Monday, Jun 19, 2017

“It is a fire that has all the hallmarks of a disaster that should never have happened. In one of the richest boroughs, in one of the world’s richest cities, accusations of warnings ignored and safety recommendations delayed are growing. So too is evidence of a government in hock to a grasping building industry running a policy of austerity that has starved local councils of cash. It is a stark illustration of the chasm dividing the poor and the rich who live just a few streets apart,” said the Guardian in a scathing editorial.

“As always, no tragedy is so dark that the gloom cannot be lifted a little by the kindness of strangers. Just as in Manchester after the Arena bombing, and in London after the Borough Market attack, once again the bleakness of events has been mitigated by the extraordinary compassion and generosity of local people. It began almost at once as Muslims, up early in the month of Ramadan, were first on the scene in the small hours with offers of help, and gathered pace through the day until community centres sheltering the frightened, the tired and the newly homeless were overwhelmed with supplies. Yet it remains hard indeed to comprehend the terror and the loss that the residents of Grenfell Tower have been through,” the paper noted.

Placing the tragedy in a political context, the paper said: “Labour won Kensington last week for the first time ever, after a campaign highlighting the constituency’s vast inequalities. On one level, this disaster fits and illustrates that wider political narrative. Grenfell Tower could become a ‘never again’ moment, a catalyst that gets real action on the country’s housing crisis. But for the disaster’s victims, the big picture is irrelevant. They need help, now. And then they, and everyone who lives in a tower block anywhere, need answers. Understanding what happened, and why, can be part of the drive for enduring change.”

The Independent explored a similar social context to the episode and said: “Now, and forever more, this unremarkable block of flats in west London will be synonymous with the disaster that consumed it… Inevitably, we must ask how this catastrophe could come about in modern Britain. London, as politicians and business folk perennially remind us, is one of the great cities of the 21st century, the economic powerhouse of the UK. How is it then that a recently renovated apartment block housing hundreds of people could become a raging inferno in a matter of minutes - and could provide insufficient means of escape to those inside? There are broader issues to consider too. The first is Britain’s approach to social housing, which for too long has been wanting. London may be Britain’s financial strength but it is also the place that most obviously symbolises the inequality between the country’s haves and have-nots. The social housing of Grenfell Tower, on the edge of the sprawling Lancaster West Estate, looks down on homes just a few streets away which are worth many millions of pounds… In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster, politics will be put aside. But when the dust settles, and the ash, we must consider whether this tragedy is not only a personal nightmare for all who are directly affected but is also an emblem of a broken society.”

Commenting on the issue, the New York Times said: “The English system of local government is hard to navigate, and opportunities for citizens to engage meaningfully with decision makers are not plentiful. A paternalistic ‘we know best’ attitude often prevails, and even basic information is available only through freedom-of-information requests... In another sign of this “trust authority” mind-set, official instructions to Grenfell residents were to “stay put” in the event of a fire. Fortunately, most people ignored that and fled. These are turbulent times in Britain, and the fire at Grenfell Tower touches on many of the issues that are riling people. Over the past decade, a series of events have demolished the trust citizens once had in officialdom: the financial crash of 2008, the scandal of parliamentary expenses and the chaos in government following the Brexit referendum. Today, the Grenfell disaster looks like yet another of these “trust us, we’ll look after you” promises that officialdom fails to keep.”

(ENDS)

Compiled by Chiranjib Sengupta | Hub Editor

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