I
must start by saying that my thoughts are with those who have lost friends,
family and loved ones in the horrific fire at Grenfell Towers. The footage and words from those who
witnessed it is nothing short of the stuff of nightmares.
We
do not know as yet how many died in the fire.
At the present time 79 people are listed as missing and dead; although
reports have suggested that this may raise to treble figures.
As
they always do (and do not receive enough recognition for), the firefighters of
London risked their lives trying to save people trapped in the tower, many of
whom who had heeded the advice to stay in their flats. Our emergency services should be commended,
not only for their actions at Grenfell, but also after the London and
Manchester terrorist attacks. It takes a
special kind of brave to run into a life threatening situation which others are
running from.
Last
Friday night, my only plans were to have a glass of wine, watch The Last Leg
and generally have a relaxed night, away from social media (for once). But then I saw the protest at Kensington
Council offices on mainstream media and wanted to know more. The real story.
The
thing is; the mainstream media is increasing unreliable in getting the true
story out there. You receive limited
information, usually aligned to someone's agenda when in fact, there is a lot
more to the story that is not shown.
With
this in mind, I searched the #JusticeForGrenfell hashtag and came across a
periscope showing footage of around one thousand people marching across
London.
I
have been given permission to share the Periscope footage by the man taking the
video, DJ S.K.T who is an international DJ and producer of house music. He was on his way to Notting Hill when he
came across the march and decided to join and record . He has asked me to confirm that he is neither
a protester nor an activist. He wanted
to film to show people what was happening in a non-partisan way, which I think
you can tell from the footage below.
What a peaceful march rounded up by a beautiful vigil 🙏❤️#JusticeForGrenfell #Justice4Grenfell https://t.co/LvCEU5msoC— DJ S.K.T #skt (@DJSKT) June 17, 2017
The
people on the march were from all walks of life. The old and the young. People from many different ethnicities, race
and religion. Men, women and (the
occasional) child. It was a peaceful
march with minimal police presence.
As
I am sharing the periscope with permission, I will leave my own political views
aside on this post but I can confirm that the march was full with people who
were marching for justice for Grenfell, people who were angry at Theresa May
and pro Jeremy Corbyn supporters.
The
footage starts when DJ S.K.T came across it at Oxford Street and continued
through Marble Arch, Edgeware Road, Hyde Park, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove and
ended up in Kensington for a vigil for Grenfell. 3.5 miles in all.
There
were no groups, no Antifa. No agendas
and no wish to do or cause harm. It was
people in unison, in peaceful protest.
Yet,
despite the major TV networks watching and in some cases commenting on the
periscope, the march was barely shared or even mentioned by anyone. The angry protest at Kensington Council was
played over and over again, yet no footage of the peaceful march which lasted
around two hours was shown.
I
woke up on Saturday fulling expecting there to be talk of the march in the news
and the media. Yet there was
nothing. I woke to find Saturday Kitchen
trending on Twitter instead of the people who stood up and marched to make
their voices heard.
People
are no longer content to let the major TV networks and newspapers tell them
what to think. They no longer care to be
shown only heavily edited and some in cases prejudiced information. They want the real story, what really
happened and this is why it is important that videos like this are shared.
I
saw people from around the world commenting as the footage progressed. The world is watching. Maybe it is now time that the world saw us
for what we really are. Unedited.
Because
it is when things are at their worst that the people in this country come
together. When we are together, in
unison, we are unstoppable. That British
spirit is in all of us.
It
is the spirit that arranged a clean up crew on Twitter after the London riots
of 2011.
It
is that spirit that makes us come together and do everything we can after the
terrorist attacks in Manchester and London.
It
is that spirit that started the relief and help for the people of Grenfell
Towers when the towers were still burning.
It
is that spirit that made an elderly lady in a mobility scooter travel from
Ilford to Finsbury Park to apologise to the people at the mosque and the Imam
who stopped people from hurting the terrorist (alleged at this stage while
police investigations are ongoing.
We
are in the digital age now and it is time that we show people who we are. Not just the bad, because there really is so
much good. If you wish to donate to the people and survivors of the fire at Grenfell Tower, you can do so here ArtistsForGrenfell
