Grenfell survivor who lived in flat where blaze started now 'a ghost of a man'
The man who lived in the flat where the Grenfell Tower fire began has told how he has become “a ghost of a man” in the aftermath of the disaster.
A statement by Behailu Kebede was read aloud on Tuesday at the start of Grenfell Testimony Week - an event put together after an agreement was reached last year for a global settlement of compensation claims made by people affected by the 2017 tragedy. A legal hearing in May 2023 was told there had been a settlement of about 900 cases and a global sum of about £150million compensation agreed.
Organisers of the four-day event said it is being held to give the bereaved, survivors and residents an opportunity to “speak directly to representatives from the defendant organisations that many of them hold responsible for the fire”. In a heartbreaking testimony, Behailu described the fear and grief he has lived with for the past six-and-a-half years.
“I cannot be with you, today” said Behailu, who said he came as a refugee to the UK in 1992. “Because though I know, in my head, that the fire was the fault of RBKC (the council), Celotex, the government....in my heart - which is full of fear and grief, it was in my flat, my kitchen, where it started. It’s a deep pain, a shame that I carry.”
The appalling blaze killed 72 people, injuring a further 70 (Daily Mirror)
Behailu Kebede gave a devastating testimony of his life since the fire (mirror.co.uk)Behailu was cleared of any blame by the inquiry into the disaster but he said he had felt unable to attend the community’s silent marches or the inquiry. But he described his “pride” at watching those affected continually fight for justice.
Firefighter used selfie in front of smouldering Grenfell Tower on Tinder profile
He spoke of the “special place” Grenfell had been for him before the fire but described how he felt he had to “hide away” after what happened because of media attention, and how the ongoing sense of trauma kept him from attending testimony week. He said those responsible had failed to admit any fault in the immediate aftermath, leading to “division and confusion” among victims about where the blame lay.
This could have been avoided, he said, had the “wealthy” and “powerful” organisations been open about their roles in what had happened. “After the fire, I wanted and needed to meet the families of the deceased, but I did not have the courage to do so,” he said. “I just wanted to hide away.”
He described how he told the Grenfell Inquiry in 2018 that he was “not the same man I used to be”. “Nearly six have passed...I cannot really say I’m any better,” he added. “My partner and my children live with a ghost of a man.”
Bereaved dad Marcio Gomes, the father of a baby stillborn following the 2017 blaze, described the life his son could have had, telling the firms: “This is what you have taken away from me.” Opening the testimonies, Marcio spoke of the blissful family life he and his loved ones had been robbed of - as he told “a story” about his son Logan Gomes.
Pictures from today's report show the gutted interior of the flat where the Grenfell Tower fire started (Handout)At times tearful and pausing to compose himself, he described his family’s excitement at the arrival of their “prince”, the “magical and mesmerising” cry of a newborn and the milestone first steps that had been missed. His son would by now have celebrated his sixth birthday, he added.
Looking directly at representatives from companies associated with the tower, as well as the council and Government, who sat silently to his right, he said: “This is what Logan’s life would’ve been. “This is what our lives would’ve been like.”
He added: “This is what you have taken away from me.” Mr Gomes and his wife Andreia Perestrelo were expecting their third child on August 21 2017, but Logan was stillborn in hospital following the blaze. The couple lived with their two daughters in the North Kensington tower for 10 years, and all four narrowly escaped the blaze.
Representatives from Celotex, Exova, London Fire Brigade, Kingspan, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), Rydon, and Whirlpool Corporation all accepted invitations to be present at testimony week, alongside representatives from the Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Arconic, which supplied the cladding on the outside of the tower, said it has made a “significant financial contribution to fund the organisation” of testimony week but regrets that no representatives could attend. The 24-storey tower had completed a refurbishment, covered in flammable cladding, in 2016.
Fire services pictured at the scene of the tragedy in June 2017 (PA)Councillor Kim Taylor-Smith, the deputy leader of RBKC, caused fury shortly after the fire when claiming in several broadcast interviews he was unaware of Grenfell residents’ repeated concerns about safety, despite being a member of the council’s housing scrutiny committee for a year before the fire.
Dragons' Den star Steven Bartlett mentoring young survivors of Grenfell fire
Taylor-Smith and council leader Elizabeth Campbell, who were both appointed to their roles in the weeks after the disaster, sat side-by-side as they listened to devastating testimony on Tuesday. Organisers stated that testimony week is “completely independent of, and has no impact upon, the ongoing Grenfell Tower Inquiry”.
Inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick was among those gathered at Church House in Westminster to listen to the testimonies, sitting alongside lead counsel to the inquiry, Richard Millett KC. A film of excerpts from the inquiry’s hearings was played at the event, entitled “I don’t recall”.
During the audio various people from RBKC, Rydon, Kingspan, Celotex, Arconic and former Government minister Lord Eric Pickles were heard saying they could not recall when asked questions during the inquiry. A clip of Lord Pickles, who was secretary of state at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) between 2010 and 2015, noting how much of his time the inquiry was taking up was also included.
Other testimonies included from Emma O’Connor, who lived on the 20th floor of the tower and managed to escape with her partner on the night of the fire. Ms O’Connor, who is disabled, said: “I still struggle every day with survivor’s guilt.”
Before the testimonies the names of all those who died in the fire were read aloud, followed by a 72-second silence - one for each life lost.
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