Grenfell fire inquiry reveals Muslim survivors were denied halal food during temporary relocation

Grenfell fire inquiry reveals Muslim survivors were denied halal food during temporary relocation
An inquiry has revealed that Kensington and Chelsea Council “badly failed” Muslim survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire by denying them access to halal food while they were temporarily resettled at hotels. (Reuters/File)
Short Url
Updated 04 September 2024
Follow

Grenfell fire inquiry reveals Muslim survivors were denied halal food during temporary relocation

Grenfell fire inquiry reveals Muslim survivors were denied halal food during temporary relocation
  • Kensington and Chelsea Council should have done more to cater to people from diverse backgrounds
  • Tower residents had been observing Ramadan, yet halal food was not provided at all hotels

LONDON: An inquiry has revealed that Kensington and Chelsea Council “badly failed” Muslim survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire by denying them access to halal food while they were temporarily resettled at hotels.
The Independent reported on Wednesday that the inquiry’s final report found that the 2017 fire that had killed 72 people was a result of “decades of failure” by central government and the construction industry to act on the dangers of flammable cladding.
According to the inquiry, Kensington and Chelsea Council should have done more to cater to people from diverse backgrounds because most of the tower residents had been observing Ramadan, yet halal food was not provided at all hotels.
Also, it was impossible to observe the requirement to eat at set times during the holy month.
The inquiry’s findings prompted criticism from the Muslim Council of Britain’s Secretary-General Zara Mohammed, who told the Independent: “The treatment of minority and faith communities by the council highlights wider structural and systemic issues that must be tackled.
“Grenfell remains a stark reminder and trauma for so many, not just the fire but for the way the most vulnerable in our society are treated.
“Much must be learned now, and for those who have been waiting for justice, meaningful change is essential,” said Mohammed.
Dr. Shabna Begum, CEO of the Runnymede Trust, linked race, Grenfell and wider housing inequalities — and warned that it was “a matter of time until a tragedy of the same scale will happen again.”
“The Grenfell fire was a preventable tragedy, marred at every point by structural and direct racism — from those who were killed, to the treatment of survivors, the bereaved, and the wider community, as the latest report from the inquiry confirms. Seven years since, there is still no justice for the victims and thousands of unsafe buildings still stand across the country,” she said.
“People of color are feeling the harshest impacts of the housing crisis, disproportionately live in unsafe and unsuitable homes, and are often funnelled into the poorest quality and least desirable social housing. As a bare minimum, everyone should have access to safe, suitable, affordable housing,” she added.
The Grenfell inquiry report highlighted the lack of support for people from migrant backgrounds whose first language was not English.
“Those who obtained information about the support available were the first to receive assistance, while those who did not were left behind,” it said.
Interpreters were often not provided, and in some cases, were provided but in the wrong language, the report found.
A Black Lives Matter spokesperson said: “The report confirms what we already know — that we live in a society where a hierarchy of human worth is premised upon the color of your skin, and where ease in accessing basic social goods such as decent housing is determined by your class and race.”
There were also barriers to mental health support for survivors, according to the report.
The head of policy at Action for Race Equality, Meka Beresford, hoped the lessons and recommendations from this report were taken seriously, “as a matter of utmost urgency.”
“Those impacted by the Grenfell tragedy have been systematically failed at every stage,” she told the newspaper.
“The final report published today is clear — if you are Black or Brown, a Muslim, or spoke English as an additional language, you were faced with barriers to even the most basic forms of support following the fire.
“Decades of failure predated the tragedy, and we must not wait any longer to put an end to the pervasive institutional racism and Islamophobia in Britain today,” Beresford said.


Teenager 'stabbed 50 times', burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors

Teenager 'stabbed 50 times', burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors
Updated 5 sec ago
Follow

Teenager 'stabbed 50 times', burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors

Teenager 'stabbed 50 times', burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors
MARSEILLE: A 15-year-old boy was "stabbed 50 times" and burned alive this week in the southern French city of Marseille in an apparent case of drug-related violence, prosecutors said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the teenager was murdered on Wednesday, describing the case as one of "unprecedented savagery."
Marseille, France's second-largest city but also one of its poorest, is plagued by drug-related violence.
Bessone said that victims and perpetrators of such violence were getting increasingly younger.
The city has in recent years witnessed a turf war for control of the highly profitable drug market between various clans including DZ Mafia.
The teenager had been hired by a 23-year-old prisoner to intimidate a competitor by setting fire to his door, the prosecutor said, adding he had been promised 2,000 euros.
The teenager had however been spotted by members of a rival gang who repeatedly stabbed him then set him on fire, he added.
The same prisoner then recruited a 14-year-old minor to carry out a revenge attack and kill a member of the Blacks gang, promising to pay him 50,000 euros.
The 14-year-old hired a 36-year-old driver who angered the minor and ended up being killed.
The two latest cases mean that the number of drug-related killings in Marseille has risen to 17 since the start of the year.
By comparison, a total of 49 people were killed in drug related violence in Marseille in 2023.
san-ol-as/rlp

1 dead as Russia strikes Ukraine with drones and missiles

1 dead as Russia strikes Ukraine with drones and missiles
Updated 15 min 30 sec ago
Follow

1 dead as Russia strikes Ukraine with drones and missiles

1 dead as Russia strikes Ukraine with drones and missiles

KYIV: One person has died after Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight with 87 Shahed drones and four different types of missiles, officials said Sunday.
A 49-year-old man was killed in the Kharkiv region after his car was hit by a drone, said regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov. A gas pipeline was also damaged and a warehouse set alight in the city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials reported.
Ukraine’s air force said in a statement that air defenses had destroyed 56 of the 87 drones and two missiles over 14 Ukrainian regions, including the capital, Kyiv.
Another 25 drones disappeared from radar “presumably as a result of anti-aircraft missile defense,” it said.
The barrage comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that he will present his “victory plan” at the Oct. 12 meeting of the Ramstein group of nations that supplies arms to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy presented his plan to U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington last week. Its contents have not been made public but it is known that the plan includes Ukrainian membership in NATO and the provision of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
In a statement Sunday, the Ukrainian leader paid tribute to the country’s troops, which he also described as “preparing (for) the next Ramstein.”
“They demonstrate what Ukrainians are capable of when they have enough weapons and sufficient range,” he said in a statement on social media. “We will keep convincing our partners that our drones alone are not enough. More decisive steps are needed — and the end of this war will be closer.”


Teenager ‘stabbed 50 times’, burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors

Teenager ‘stabbed 50 times’, burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors
Updated 21 min 14 sec ago
Follow

Teenager ‘stabbed 50 times’, burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors

Teenager ‘stabbed 50 times’, burned alive in Marseille: prosecutors

MAREILLE: A 15-year-old boy was “stabbed 50 times” and burned alive this week in the southern French city of Marseille in an apparent case of drug-related violence, prosecutors said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the teenager was murdered on Wednesday, describing the case as one of “unprecedented savagery.”


Indian villagers kill last wolf from man-eating pack

Indian villagers kill last wolf from man-eating pack
Updated 29 min 36 sec ago
Follow

Indian villagers kill last wolf from man-eating pack

Indian villagers kill last wolf from man-eating pack

LUCKNOW: Villagers in India have beaten to death a wolf believed to be the last of a six-member pack that killed nine people, eight of them children, wildlife officials said on Sunday.
The grey wolves sparked hysteria among residents in Bahraich district of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where the animals were said to have attacked more than 40 people.
More than 150 armed personnel and dozens of government forestry officials were deployed to capture the wolves last month.
Five of the animals were trapped, with drones and surveillance cameras suggesting only one remained free.
Government forest officer Ajit Singh said villagers had contacted his team on Sunday after they killed a prowling wolf.
"We were informed about a dead animal in the village, and upon reaching the scene, we found a wolf with clear signs of physical injuries," Singh told AFP.
"It seems it is part of the same pack of wolves," Singh said.
Further investigations were needed to verify that no more wolves remained in the area, he said.
Experts say wolves attack humans or livestock only as a last resort when they are starving, preferring less dangerous prey such as small antelopes.
However, wildlife officials say heavy flooding from extreme torrential rains had swamped the wolves' usual territory, depriving them of hunting grounds, and driving them into areas of more populated farmland.
Some of those killed or injured were attacked while sleeping on the veranda of their homes, a common practice during the hot and humid days of the monsoon rains.
The grassland plains of Bahraich district lie about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the border with Nepal, where thick forests cover Himalayan foothills.
The majority of India's roughly 3,000 wolves survive outside protected areas, often in close proximity to people.
Numbers have been dwindling due to the loss of habitat and a lack of wild prey, experts say.
The animals, also known as the plains wolf, are smaller than the stronger Himalayan wolf and can be mistaken for other species such as jackals.
In Rudyard Kipling's 1894 novel The Jungle Book, the "man-cub" Mowgli was raised in the jungle by grey wolves.


India’s ruling party set to lose two state elections, exit polls show

India’s ruling party set to lose two state elections, exit polls show
Updated 06 October 2024
Follow

India’s ruling party set to lose two state elections, exit polls show

India’s ruling party set to lose two state elections, exit polls show
  • Congress holds clear advantage in northern state of Haryana, local media reports say 
  • Reports say opposition also holds edge in Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir

NEW DELHI: India’s ruling party is projected to have lost two key provincial elections to the main opposition Congress party and its allies, exit polls showed, suggesting another setback after the party fared poorly in national elections.

Local media reported that Congress had a clear advantage in exit polls in the northern state of Haryana, indicating an end to a decade of rule by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. The opposition also held an edge in the Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The two elections were held in phases that ended on Saturday. Votes will be counted on Tuesday and results will be announced the same day. The exit poll results were released late on Saturday.

Exit polls, conducted by private polling firms including TV broadcasters, have a patchy record in India, which analysts say poses a particular challenge due to its large and diverse voting population.

The exit polls had projected Modi’s BJP would win a large majority in the general election in June, but it fell short and had to depend on regional parties to secure a majority and form a coalition government.

The two Indian territories are the first to go to the polls since the national elections.

India’s industrial hub of Maharashtra and the mineral-rich eastern state of Jharkhand, next up in provincial elections, are awaiting the announcement of poll dates that are expected to be in November.

The Jammu and Kashmir election was the first in a decade in the Himalayan region, which has endured years of militant violence. It is India’s only Muslim-majority territory and has been at the center of a dispute with neighboring Pakistan since 1947.

Its status as a special semi-autonomous entity was revoked in 2019 by Modi’s government, which says the move has helped to restore normalcy in the area and boosted development.