[Image: A vertical picture of a black man looking directly at the camera]
Part 32 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Raymond “Moses” Bernard, from the 23rd floor of Grenfell Tower
Raymond “Moses” Bernard, aged 63, lost his life while helping his neighbours in Grenfell Tower. He was born in Trinidad, but moved to Britain in 1969 and became an electrician. In 1973 he got married, and three children followed: two daughters and a son. At the time of his death he had lived in Grenfell Tower for 30 years, sharing his flat with his dog, Marley.
The Grenfell inquiry heard that Raymond sheltered people in his top-floor flat as the fire raged. His sister Bernadette said,
“Ray was a kind, gentle, compassionate man, a leader and adviser. He always said life is too short, try and be happy. He had lived on the top floor of Grenfell for over 30 years where he tragically lost his life.
The positioning of Deborah, Jessica, Berkti and Biruk were on my brother’s bed with my brother resting beside the bed on the floor. This shows the respect he gave to those who lost their lives that night and we know that he would have given comfort to each of them before they took their last breaths and departed this world.
Ray being a man and the strongest he was probably the last to die. He would have been so alone. We know from the details shared by the coroner that Ray was a hero on that tragic night.“
Raymond loved music and DJing, and was an avid supporter of the West Indies cricket team. His son Julian also attended the inquiry, but was too upset to read his statement himself. It was read for him:
“My dad had a personality that reflected the temperature of his childhood home in Trinidad, which was both warm and affectionate. He was an admirable man, a respected brother, a valued uncle, son, father, grandfather and friend. My dad was a people person. He could be anyone’s best friend because of his kindness and
understanding.”
[Image 1: A brown-haired white woman smiling at the camera. Image 2: A white woman with colourful earrings smiling at the camera]
Part 31 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Victoria King and Alexandra Atala, from the 20th floor of Grenfell Tower
Victoria King and Alexandra Atala, a mother and daughter,
died together in the Grenfell fire. Unfortunately, not much is known about them. Although a few sources claimed they were British, they were both in fact Australian. “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade can confirm that two Australian citizens died in the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017,” a spokesman said in January 2018.
“We were devastated to hear of our sister Vicky’s fate, and
that of her daughter, Alexandra, in the Grenfell Tower tragedy. Some comfort can come from the knowledge that she and Alexandra were devoted to one another and spent so many mutually supportive years together. They died at each other’s side and now they can rest together in peace. We will remember them always.’’
Victoria had turned 71 just a few days before she died.
Alexandra was 40. They were the last two Grenfell victims to be identified.
Victoria’s sister Penny issued a statement to the Grenfell inquiry:
“After losing touch with my younger sister Vicky I spent
many years trying to find her through friends in the UK. Eventually, thanks to the Salvation army family tracing I was able to get in touch with her and my niece Alexandra living in Grenfell Tower.
If this had not been the case no family member would have
known they had perished… the time we had back being in touch means a great deal. I wish it had been for much longer. They were and are still together, and that is what is important. The fire was a tragedy for all of us.”
[Image: A Muslim family standing close together and holding each other’s hands and shoulders]
Part 30 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
The Hashim family, from the 22nd floor of Grenfell Tower
Hashim Kedir, Nura Jemal and their three children Yaqub, Firdaws and Yahya all died in the Grenfell fire. Hashim was a taxi driver from Ethiopia whose siblings remembered him as a very intelligent person, right from childhood up to adulthood. “He used to participate in all sorts of
extra-curricular activities. He used to write poems, draw, do gymnastics, play football and sing,” his sister told the Grenfell inquiry.
One of Hashim’s fellow footballers remembered him:
“He was really respectful, always thanking me for looking after the kids. He was really hard-working, he was driven to make sure he was looking after people: the family, his friends, his neighbours. He was a lovely guy.”
His wife Nura Jamal was also from Ethiopia, but she met Hashim in London and married him in 2002. She was totally devoted to her children, friends said. “She didn’t just drop them off and say hi; she watched and wanted to know how they were doing, what they needed to work on,” her children’s taekwondo teacher said. “She was totally engaged in them as people and was a tremendous support and source of love for them.”
She loved nature and would make videos of whatever she encountered outside. “Her joy was courageous and contagious,” her sister-in-law Assema told the Grenfell inquiry. “Being around her could lighten up anyone’s
day in a matter of seconds. She was sociable, she could befriend absolutely
anyone, no matter who they were, or what they believed in.”
Yaqub, the youngest of the family, was an energetic six-year-old whom everyone adored. He attended Avondale Primary, the same school the Choucairs went to. “Yaqub was a character: chatty, mischievous, lively, but charming, with lots to say,” headteacher Katy Blackler said. Assema
told the inquiry a similar thing:
“He was so full of life and energy and funny. It was impossible to spend a minute without laughing if he was around. He never accepted being the little one; he always tried to show that he could do whatever Yahya and Firdaws were capable of doing.”
Yaqub had once written in a schoolbook that he wanted to be a fireman when he grew up, “because I want to save the world,” his class
teacher said.
Firdaws, 12 years old, had participated in a Bill Gates-hosted debating tournament just months before she died. There, she met Channel 4 news anchor Jon Snow, who was serving as one of the judges. He spoke about the impact she had on him:
“I will never forget it. She stood out above anybody else. She was absolutely spellbinding and I thought: my God, that girl is going to go far.
But, desperately, she died high up in the building with the whole of her family and it absolutely breaks my heart every time I think about it.”
Bill Gates sent a tribute too, saying that Firdaws was a girl “who had enormous potential and wanted to make the world better”.
Alongside Mierna Choucair, she was a deputy head girl at her school. “I’m sure you’ve heard she was brilliant at everything; but she was,” Katy Blackler said. “She was a great singer, and sportsperson, and speaker and all the children knew her. When I told them she had died there were big, big tears rolling down their faces.”
The oldest child of the family was Yahya, who was thirteen. He absolutely loved football, the people who knew him said, and was an Arsenal supporter. But he was also devoted to his religion, Islam, and to his younger brother. His taekwondo teacher remembered their bond:
“[Yahya] was very mature like an adult almost. He was speaking to one of my assistants saying he was getting concerned about his little brother, saying he needs help to focus more.
It was almost like a parent wanting their child to do well. He took looking after his little brother very seriously and there was no hint of disruption or ill feeling towards another person: I never saw even a hint of it.”
His aunt described him as “the most kind, polite, loving, generous, thankful and pure-hearted boy I ever knew.”
Assema’s statement at the Grenfell inquiry ended with a
condemnation. “Some other responsible government department sitting somewhere was just sitting and watching them turn to ashes. The whole world had watched on TV a lady waving a white cloth from the 22nd floor.”
The Hashim
Family Legacy Fund was set up to honour them. It works to support the
children left traumatised by the Grenfell fire.
Part 29 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Denis Murphy, from the 14th floor of
Grenfell Tower
Irishman Denis Murphy was a diehard supporter of Chelsea
football club. “He had three biggest loves in his life: family, friends and
Chelsea Football Club, and not always in that order,” his sister Anne Marie said at the Grenfell inquiry. Denis was also a talented footballer himself, and had trials with Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace.
“The pain, loss and sorrow we feel is indescribable and we have been left devastated with a gaping hole in our hearts that can never be filled.
To us he was an inspiration and an amazing, selfless,
caring person and we feel lucky and blessed that he was part of our family, and his warmth and love will stay with us forever.
What really matters to us is what he stood for – family,
friends, community, loyalty and love – and our lives will never be the same without him.”
In October 2017, Chelsea FC paid tribute to their fan by stopping a match in the 56th minute – 56 being Denis’s age when he died – and giving him a round of applause. A few months later Denis’s nephew, Stevan Racz, started a campaign to give a Christmas present to every child affected by the Grenfell tragedy.
Denis was a painter and decorator who had lived in London for most of his life, and was “like a dad” to his younger siblings. “He had a strong set of principles and values which he adhered to and instilled in us,” his sister said. Once, at ten years old, he saw a sibling had forgotten his bus money, and so handed over his own. At the Grenfell inquiry, his family told the audience that all they had left of him was a handful of recovered coins.
[Image 1: A young black woman looking directly at the camera. Image 2: A two-year-old black boy wearing an orange t-shirt and holding an orange football, also looking directly at the camera]
Part 28 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
The Deen family, from the 14th floor of Grenfell Tower
Zainab Deen, a 32-year-old originally from Sierra Leone, and her two-year-old son Jeremiah both perished in the fire. Zainab was able to tell her brother goodbye via the phone before she died: the details were reported on by the media but are upsetting.
Zainab had loads of friends in London, her father said. She worked at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital, and loved her Grenfell flat because it was so open and spacious.
Her father also gave a statement at the Grenfell inquiry:
“We never thought we would be thinking of Zainab Deen as a memory like we are today…
Zainab had it all. She was beautiful, smart, warm, caring and a confident and outgoing young woman. She had a lively personality and her great sense of humour was enjoyed by all who came across her. Her untimely death has left us heartbroken.
We are so proud to be able to call you our daughter. We are grateful for the brief time we were able to spend with you and believe that the angels are rejoicing because one of their loved ones has rejoined them.”
Jeremiah, his grandfather said, was “loved by all, and was very overprotected by his mother who loved him very much.”
“Most of all we are happy that you are with your mother Zainab who loved and adored you …She will keep you safe now as she protected you in life. Even death can’t separate you both. Our hearts break, we love and
miss you Jeremiah. Sleep grandson, take your rest.”
“It isn’t right, it should have been the other way around. We should be being buried, not them. This should not have happened. This should not be life. When you lose somebody, you are able to see the body. Not for us, months passed. It is not normal.“
Zaniab and her son were buried together in a private ceremony.
[Image: A grainy picture of an Indian man who is waving]
Part 27 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Joseph Daniels, from the 16th floor of Grenfell Tower
Joseph Daniels was 69 years old and suffered from dementia.
He was from Lucknow in India, and the son of a brigadier. In younger life he served in the Indian air force, and then worked in security at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
He was a Christian who loved music, bodybuilding, and Elvis
Presley. He married a woman called Lucy Daniels, and although they eventually divorced he had one son with her, Sam. Sam became his full-time carer after the dementia took hold, and was with him the night the fire started. Unfortunately, due to the nature of his father’s condition, Sam couldn’t get him out of the building. He alerted firefighters, but the firefighters didn’t find him. Sam said at the inquiry that he believed the firefighters got lost on the way to his father’s flat owing to the council not labelling the floors of Grenfell Tower correctly. “He never stood a chance of getting out. It should never have happened,” he said.
A letter exists on the internet which appears to be from Lucy Daniels, regarding the funeral of her ex-husband:
“The Service was simple and beautiful and Sam was able to
bestow dignity on his father which the horror of his death in Grenfell Tower had tried to rob from him.”
Before any funerals, while Joe was still listed amongst the missing, Sam’s uncle Patrick Smyth wrote a letter to the Irish Times condemning the lack of care which led to the Grenfell fire.
Why no fire breaks on the walls? Why were no internal or
external sprinklers installed in the £10 million refurbishment? Was the latter just a cosmetic exercise? Why did the central alarms not work? Why no second staircase? And no floor numbering on the stairs?
We join demos at the town hall and in Westminster, a mix of
inchoate, justifiable local rage at the unnecessary tragedy and ritual chants of “May out”, somehow tone deaf to what these people need now. But people feel the need to do something.
My sister, Sam’s mum, a one-time leader of the Grenfell tenants, hums again and again an old family favourite about the Titanic: “But the dirty cowards hid and denied the things they did. It was sad, it was sad when that great ship went down…”
[Image: A young black boy in a blue checked shirt, who is looking directly at the camera]
Part 26 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Isaac Paulos, from the 18th floor of
Grenfell Tower
Isaac Paulos was five years old, one of the youngest victims of the fire, and the only one of his family to die. His hand slipped from his father’s as the family ran to safety, and he didn’t make it.
He loved football, swimming and taekwondo, his family said of him, and “did everything with passion and joy.” He was studious, too – he spoke two languages, English and Amharic, and “wouldn’t leave his seat without finishing his homework.” His teacher recalled that he was very good at maths. “He was a shining star who not only had the intellectual capacity but the emotional maturity that could take him far in
life.”
After he was identified as a victim his family released a statement saying,
“We will all miss our kind, energetic, generous little boy.
He was such a good boy who was loved by his friends and family.
“We will miss him forever, but we know God is looking after him now and that he is safe in heaven.”
One of his young friends gave a letter to be read out at Isaac’s funeral, which said a similar thing. “Isaac can still play in heaven with the other children.” Isaac loved his friends, one of his teachers said at the inquiry.
“He was very caring with his friends. He was tying a superman cape around the neck of one of them and said ‘I can’t tie it too tight because it’s dangerous’ and I thought that was so caring for a little boy.”
His father, Paulos Tekle, spoke about him at the Grenfell inquiry and also spoke of his anger over the fire brigade’s “stay put” policy which caused them to stay in their flat.
“My son was beautiful, a little boy with so much potential. I will never forget Isaac’s big beautiful eyes, his calm-looking wait for his Dad to save them all. But I didn’t, because I listened to the authorities and that makes me angry.
“Are we not human? I have to live with the guilt of not protecting my son every day. I am broken and now the only thing that can make me whole again is to fight for the truth and justice in Isaac’s name, and for
my living son and their mother.”
Part 25 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Hamid Kani, from the 15th floor of
Grenfell Tower
61-year-old Hamid Kani came from Tehran in Iran. He
journeyed to Britain in the ‘70s, but always planned to move back to Iran one day. He loved cooking and acting, and had played small roles in Iranian plays which were critical of the government. This led to his being blacklisted, preventing him from returning to Iran for a while. He was eventually able to go back there a few times but always returned to Britain and Grenfell Tower. After the fire, he was among the victims found in the room of Raymond “Moses” Bernard.
His family released a statement after his body was identified:
“Hamid will always be remembered for his wit, compassion and devotion to his family and friends.
No words can express our sorrow for his loss and the way he left us.
“He will always be part of our lives and his memory will live on.”
His cousin, Masoud Shahabedin, later told The Guardian about
him and the talks they used to have:
“Every time we’d talk for 50 minutes, we would talk about Iran, our childhood, politics and the things he would read online. He spent a great deal of time on the internet, which was his biggest support.
“He was happy with Grenfell. He had lived there for more than 20 years; his flat gave him peace. He didn’t complain much in his life, he was an easygoing person. He’d live for today. He would give us a sense of
peace, he’d give us his smile and I miss him a lot.”
“Gary Maunders was extremely family-oriented; he loved his kids and mother dearly and was very fond of his nieces and nephews. Not a day passed where he wouldn’t talk to his mother or kids. Every evening he’d call to ask how their day had been and if they were okay.
Gary had a big heart. He would help anybody in need and was very giving. He was an old-school gentleman: caring, respectful, knowledgeable, charming and witty. He would always say “good morning” to the older generation and offer to help
them with their shopping trolleys or bags.
As a young boy, Gary had the potential to become a professional footballer, after he got scouted by Arsenal. He wouldn’t fail to mention this nearly every time a match was on. But funnily enough, he later became a huge Manchester United supporter. He always said he never fulfilled his dream to be a footballer because of ‘being young and chasing the women’ as he put it, and he became a painter and decorator instead.”
Gary loved Martin Gaye, the inquiry heard, and in the video tribute his nieces played for the audience “What’s Going On” was heard in the background.
Gary had two children, 15 and 10.
“He loved his mum and kids, he loved them dearly. He’d always check in on them daily, to see if they were alright and to say that he loved them. They were his world.
“He wanted the best for everyone, always told the younger kids of the family to behave and do well in school. Heart of gold our uncle had.
“We truly miss him. It’s as if a massive chunk of our hearts has been ripped out of us.
“Sometimes there are no words to describe such feelings.
“He will always be remembered and carried on in memory. We hope he is at peace and continuing on up in heaven doing what he does best. Forever loved. Justice4Grenfell.”
[Image: A white blonde woman in a grey top with skyscrapers behind her]
Part 23 of a series of posts honoring the Grenfell Tower victims.
Deborah Lamprell, from the 16th floor of Grenfell Tower
Deborah Lamprell, 45, worked front of house at Opera Holland Park. She was very close to her mother, who described her as “a wonderful,
precious daughter, always smiling and helping others”. She was her parents’ only child, and a football fan who loved cheering on Tottenham Hotspur with her father before he passed away. One of her friends, Gary Maunders, was staying with her the night the fire broke out, and sadly he died too.
Her boss at the opera house remembered her at the inquiry:
“She knew everyone; all the singers knew her, all the orchestra knew her. Everyone loved her because she was so chirpy, and she remembered things. She’d ask after someone’s mum, or their children.”
Deborah’s parents often visited her at Grenfell Tower, but
sometimes found it difficult to reach her floor because of the broken lifts. Her mother said,
“She loved her flat and she kept it lovely but the refurbishment became a nightmare. She had problems with the electricity, problems with the heating. She was very upset about having the boiler in the corridor right when you opened the front door. But I used to think at least when I go she’s got a roof over her head.
She would have me over to stay with her often for a week at
at time. But recently as my legs got worse it was difficult to visit. The
problems with the lifts made it not very nice to be in there when Debbie was at work, because you couldn’t get out easily.”
Deborah also had issues with the plumbing in her flat and the general bad conditions, her friend and co-worker Selina James told The Guardian.
Selina also told the publication about Deborah’s love for
her job:
“Debbie loved coming here. She made friends with everyone, including
patrons. But she was like me. We didn’t have opera backgrounds. I’m more into calypso, soca, carnival. We got to love it. That’s why we kept coming back.”
Opera Holland Park held a memorial and charity performance for Deborah and all the victims of Grenfell, which is available to watch on the internet.
Deborah’s mother Miriam told the Grenfell inquiry that at her daughter’s funeral, a friend approached her and said, “You would not
believe how much people loved her.”
