Grenfell Tower fire: The East African communities uniting for justice

Bedriya’s brother Sadik is critical of the “stay put” policy of the London Fire Brigade, where families were told not to evacuate the tower block when fire crews initially arrived on scene.

Sadik says: “If they had not stayed they would still be alive today.”

He tells me about his sister: “She got on with everyone – different languages, different religions.”

He adds: “They were a good family, well brought up.

“Nura’s daughter was intelligent like her mother. She had won an award from the Bill Gates foundation. She wasn’t just helpful for her family, she would have been an asset to the country.”

Both Sadiq and Bedriya grew up in Ethiopia. They belong to the Ethio-Eritrea group, which first appeared in public in January during the Grenfell Testimony Week.

This was a closed event created to allow families the chance to speak face to face with those involved in the multimillion-pound compensation settlement.

They included the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the London Fire Brigade and companies involved in the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower, such as Arconic, Celotex and Kingspan. (Arconic did not send a delegate).