It’s been nearly 2 months since the Grenfell Tower fire. In this time 9 survivors, local residents and volunteers have felt compelled to make a film to dispel the public’s fear from the Lancaster West community and reveal the deep impact this has had on them as people.
‘The survivors are not statistics they are humans beings’, says Adrianne McKenzie, one of the film-makers who has been struck by the way the survivors are seen in terms of ‘what they can be given … not as people’. Film-maker and youth worker Nendie Pinto-Duschinsky supported the team of young film-makers and describes the film as ‘harrowing to make’ but the ‘articulacy, dignity and insight of the young people will change perceptions’. Young people lost their lives on the night running into the building to save people. We hope the film will transform the way the community are seen from ‘angry and un-relatable’ to the truth that they are ‘coping with their suffering by trying to help other people’. Their humanity and morality is the clear message.
The media has covered the story in ways that the local community are not satisfied with, the evening will touch in the disparity between eye witness accounts and the reporting of events as they unfold on national media as well as the dangerous spread of misinformation.
There will be a discussion after the film with the survivors of the tragedy and the film-makers to share their personal accounts of the fire, and how disasters like this are reported in the UK.
Joining the discussion will be the journalist Ed Vulliamy. Growing up in Notting Hill, Vulliamy has written regularly on the ruthless development of the area that has divided those living in West London. He regularly writes for the Guardian.
Watch Channel 4’s excerpt of the film here
Interviews with some of the young people in the film here
Speakers
Zoe Dainton and David Benjamin lived on the 4th Floor of Grenfell Tower where the fire started. ‘ We’re two of the lucky ones we survived, we got out. People feel lost right now, everyone’s walking round like zombies[…] Here round Latimer where Grenfell is everyone knew each other, was friendly with each other there wasn’t much trouble. It was nice, as a community we were quite close…Some kids are lucky that they won’t remember this apart from in pictures and videos. There was a girl who went to school the next day and done her GCSEs in her pyjamas, she’s going to remember that forever’.
Shona Harvey lives 5 minutes from Grenfell Tower and went to primary school with Zoe. ‘Ladbroke Grove was a special area for me to grow up in because it’s culturally diverse, and it’s home to one of the biggest street carnivals in the world, The Notting Hill Carnival’, Shoana says. ‘Even myself, I was sitting down with some friends in a cafe, we were talking about what’s going on but then you do pause and think, am I laughing too much? I do think to myself maybe I feel a little better… but then you watch more footage on the news and it hits me again and I can feel my emotions building up and you realise it’s still quite fresh’.
Adrianne McKenzie is a freelance film-maker who spent much of her youth in West London. She was making a film about the closure of Stowe Youth Club near to Grenfell Tower when the fire happened. She picked up her camera and began to record events from the first night. Struck by the de-humanisation of the survivors, spending time on the ground has revealed that ‘…no-one’s really talking much about the people apart from what they can be given. So these luxury apartments or £5,000 from the government… No ones really thought about them as people they are just statistics. I feel like the survivors have been forgotten about. People are fighting a lot for the deceased but not as hard for the people who are still here’.
Reece Yeboah lives underneath Grenfell Tower and sees it every morning. He is a fashion designer and young creative pursuing his dreams. He feels if Princess Diana was alive she would have come and helped the people of Grenfell. ‘My niece goes to nursery in Grenfell Tower so on the morning of the fire I took her to nursery.’ ‘We’re doing this because we’re a community and we’re doing it from our hearts but we shouldn’t have to, the council should be doing this’. I lost 4 or 5 friends in the tower, but it’s probably more, most people in the tower, I used to see them everyday.’
Pilgrim Tucker is a community organiser and campaigner. She has many years experience of working on projects aimed at amplifying the voices of local residents, service users and community members, supporting them to organise to influence decisions that affect them. She worked with Grenfell residents in 2015 to help them campaign against the refurbishment undertaken KCTMO and Rydon. Since the fire she has continued to work with residents on the Lancaster west estate that surrounds the tower.
There will be an optional donation (£5 + standard ticket) when you book. You can also donate optionally via paypal:
We will be accepting donations for the survivors of the fire who will be attending the evening. 20 million pounds was donated by the public to meet the emergency needs of the survivors, many of whom are still ill from the fire without regular food and basic clothing. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council have imposed eligibility criteria which prevent or delay survivors claiming money in many cases. For example to receive the ‘Fresh Start’ grant of £10,000, survivors must be in permanent accommodation, which they are not.
Nearly all of the 250 families are in temporary accommodation as the permanent accommodation offered is unsuitable or not ready. The small percentage of donations that have been given out for the most part have been awarded to community organisations.
We would encourage you to donate to the fund at the screening to help them get on their feet during this uncertain period of their lives.
The Frontline Charitable Trust is a not-for-profit organisation.
]]>Shrinking editorial budgets have resulted in journalists increasingly turning to aid agencies to cover stories. At the same time, aid agencies are being pushed to be more media savvy in order to get their message out and to support advocacy and fundraising efforts.
In conflict and disaster zones, aid agencies often have the local knowledge and access to affected communities. Journalists need these stories, while aid agencies are equally in need of the media coverage. Although it appears to be an ideal partnership, this kind of embedded journalism raises significant editorial and security questions.
We will be joined by an expert panel of journalists, security experts and humanitarian workers to examine the editorial complexities and security risks presented by these partnerships. The media and aid agencies have long had a symbiotic relationship; we will be looking at how that is developing.
Chaired by Ben Parker who has worked in media and humanitarian response for over 20 years. He is the co-founder and CEO of IRIN.
The panel:
Polly Markandya is the head of communications at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Lisa Reilly is the executive coordinator of the European Interagency Security Forum (EISF). She has 20 years experience in the development and humanitarian response sector, working overseas in a variety of programme management roles in both Africa and Asia.
Michelle Betz is a former journalist who now does media development work with UN and aid agencies in conflict and post-conflict countries.
Siobhan Sinnerton is the commissioning editor for news and current affairs at Channel 4.
Photo: Fabio Basone/MSF. MSF doctor, Dr Javid Abdelmonemin, adjusts his goggle camera equipment during filming for the BBC Panorama documentary ‘Ebola Frontline’ at MSF Case Management Centre, Kailahun, Sierra Leone.
This event is in partnership with the European Interagency Security Forum.
This event is organised by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
On 23 October 1984, the BBC aired a landmark report on the famine in Ethiopia. Describing the crisis as a ‘biblical famine’, the report galvanised the public, spurred the UK government into action and prompted the creation of the infamous Live Aid concert.
Now 30 years on, is media reporting of today’s conflicts and disasters having the same effect on the public and has the nature of conflict and disaster reporting changed? How are journalists adapting to these changes?
How are humanitarian organisations working with media outlets to help generate interest and understanding of the crises affecting millions of civilians around the world?
Join the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) as they examine the current state of conflict and disaster reporting and how humanitarian agencies can work with the media to raise awareness and much-needed funds.
Chaired by Ben Parker who has worked in media and humanitarian response for over 20 years. He co-founded the IRIN humanitarian news service in 1995. As well as a reporter and editor, he has been an aid worker, most recently as head of UN’s humanitarian office in Syria in 2012, and as UN director of communications in Somalia.
The panel:
Juliana Ruhfus, senior reporter for the People and Power programme on Al Jazeera English, specialising in investigative work. Her journalistic work with Channel 4, BBC and now Al Jazeera has taken her to over 30 countries, including Somalia, Yemen, Haiti, Libya and Sri Lanka after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
Marc DuBois was the head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) UK from 2008–14. He has worked in the front lines of humanitarian crises for MSF in countries including Sudan and Angola.
Jon Snow, Channel 4 News anchor since 1989. During his career he has covered conflicts in countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola as well as the Haiti earthquake and the recent crisis in Gaza.
Eva Svoboda, research fellow in the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute. She has worked for various NGOs and the ICRC in emergencies in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
If you are unable to attend you can watch the event live, to receive a reminder register here.
Photograph: isafmedia
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Organised by ShelterBox
Join us for a panel debate, chaired by Clive Jones, Chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee (and ITV News) with: Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme; Sarah Whitehead of Sky News; DFID’s Dylan Winder; and Ross Preston, head of operations for international disaster relief charity, ShelterBox.
Inspired by ShelterBox, a growing emergency shelter provider in international disaster relief, we are offering a debate on how the media covers disasters, how journalists are selected, briefed and operate once in the field, and the value of their coverage.
The panel is chaired by Clive Jones CBE, the chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee. He is a former chairman of GMTV and ITV News, and an honorary visiting professor at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies at the University of Wales.
The panel:
Sarah Whitehead, international affairs editor, Sky News.
Dylan Winder, head of humanitarian response, Department For International Development (DFID).
Ross Preston MBE, head of operations, ShelterBox International.
Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
In 2008, a baby girl is born in Bhopal, India, the site of the worst industrial disaster in history: the Union Carbide gas leak.
What should be a celebration is a tragedy. She has severe birth defects due to the contaminated water. The American corporation involved still refuses to take responsibility and make amends for the 1984 industrial disaster which contaminated the city of Bhopal, India.
Approximately 8,000 died in the immediate aftermath and 100.000 people are suffering from the heath effects of the contamination that remains in the groundwater. The death toll continues to rise.
Award-winning director Van Maximilian Carlson paints a chilling portrait of shattered lives and the gross negligence and class inequality that keeps the people of Bhopal from finding justice and safety.
Bhopali is set with the backdrop of the on the 25th anniversary of the event and shows the fight to hold American corporation Union Carbide accountable for their actions.
* Grand Jury Best Documentary Award, 2011 Slamdance Film Festival
* Documentary Audience Award, 2011 Slamdance Film Festival
* Best Documentary Award, 2011 New York Indian Film Festival
* Best Documentary Award, 2011 Los Angeles International Film Festival
* Best Director, 2011 Los Angeles International Film Festival
* Best Documentary Special Jury Award, 2011 Beverly Hills Film Festival
* Best Documentary Award, 2011 San Francisco United Film Festival
Directed by: Van Maximilian Carlson
Year: 2011
Running Time: 80′
In 2008, a baby girl is born in Bhopal, India, the site of the worst industrial disaster in history: the Union Carbide gas leak.
What should be a celebration is a tragedy. She has severe birth defects due to the contaminated water. The American corporation involved still refuses to take responsibility and make amends for the 1984 industrial disaster which contaminated the city of Bhopal, India.
Approximately 8,000 died in the immediate aftermath and 100.000 people are suffering from the heath effects of the contamination that remains in the groundwater. The death toll continues to rise.
Award-winning director Van Maximilian Carlson paints a chilling portrait of shattered lives and the gross negligence and class inequality that keeps the people of Bhopal from finding justice and safety.
Bhopali is set with the backdrop of the on the 25th anniversary of the event and shows the fight to hold American corporation Union Carbide accountable for their actions.
* Grand Jury Best Documentary Award, 2011 Slamdance Film Festival
* Documentary Audience Award, 2011 Slamdance Film Festival
* Best Documentary Award, 2011 New York Indian Film Festival
* Best Documentary Award, 2011 Los Angeles International Film Festival
* Best Director, 2011 Los Angeles International Film Festival
* Best Documentary Special Jury Award, 2011 Beverly Hills Film Festival
* Best Documentary Award, 2011 San Francisco United Film Festival
Directed by: Van Maximilian Carlson
Year: 2011
Running Time: 80′
By Nicole Hunt
US President Barack Obama hosts Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki for talks in Washington on Monday, with discussions focusing on strengthening the ‘strategic partnership’ between the two countries. The summit comes ahead of a looming 31 December deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.
Following last week’s European Council meetings, the focus early this week is, predictably, still the euro zone debt crisis. Experts from the IMF, the European Central Bank and the EU begin their sixth review mission to Athens, hoping that this time around they’ll be able to stick around until the scheduled end of the visit on Friday.
The venue changes but the topic stays the same on Tuesday, with Spain, Italy and France in the limelight. Spain’s Congreso de los Diputados convenes for the first time since elections on 20 November, though new
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy won’t formally take up his post until he’s sworn in by King Carlos later this month.
In Rome, Parliament is scheduled to begin debating Prime Minister Mario Monti’s austerity measures, which he issued by decree on 4 December. MPs are expected to approve the measures well before the 60-day deadline.
Meanwhile, French unions have planned a nationwide day of protests against their government’s austerity measures. Thousands are expected to take the streets in Paris, where the largest demonstration takes place outside of the Assemblée Nationale.
Under Egypt’s complicated election laws, another parliamentary vote is held on Wednesday, with polling taking place in nine governates, including Giza and Suez. The elections on 28 November, which were held despite violent protests only days before, covered nine provinces, including Cairo and Alexandria. A third round of voting takes place on 3 January.
In New Orleans, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management holds the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico since the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.
A Paris court is expected to issue its verdict on Thursday in the long-running corruption trial of former French President Jacques Chirac. Chirac is accused of misusing public funds and creating false job contracts during his time as Mayor of Paris. He settled a €2.2m civil suit with the city of Paris in August 2010.
Thursday also sees two meetings taking place which will be viewed very differently by Russia. President Dmitry Medvedev attends the EU-Russia Summit in Brussels, but the visit will be coloured by expressions of concern from the EU over allegations of unfair voting practices in Russia’s 4 December parliamentary elections, which saw Medvedev’s United Russia party win a majority despite heavy losses.
Over in Geneva, the World Trade Organisation holds its eighth Ministerial Conference, where delegates are expected to hold a long-awaited vote on Russian accession to the WTO.
TIME Magazine announces its annual Person of the Year on Friday. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg was 2010’s winner; leaders in this year’s online poll (which don’t have any bearing on the final choice) include Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, footballer Lionel Messi, The 99%, Anonymous, Steve Jobs, and the Arab Youth.
The US army begins an Article 32 hearing for Private First Class Bradley Manning, which is expected to last just over a week. The hearing is to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a court martial against Manning, who is accused to leaking a 2007 video to WikiLeaks which showed a military operation in Baghdad in which two Reuters reporters were killed.
As Saturday happens to be Manning’s 24th birthday, an international day of solidarity has been organised, with protests planned worldwide. Occupy London protesters have already pledged to take part.
Though it hardly seems possible as Egypt works through elections and protests and killings rage on in Syria, Saturday also marks the one year anniversary of the self-immolation of Tunisian fruit and vegetable seller Mohamed Bouazizi, an event that has been singled out as the catalyst for the Arab Spring movement as it kicked off Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution.
]]>Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak returns to court on Monday. Along with his sons Alaa and Gamal he appears charged with premeditated murder in connection with the deaths of protesters during the 25 January revolution.
Monday also sees the publication of Japan’s Q2 stats. The country’s GDP shrank 3.7 per cent in Q1, largely attributed to the 11 March disasters, and a similar decline is expected as the country copes with power shortages following the nuclear crisis.
It’s the turn of Europe to brace itself for GDP figures on Tuesday, with the official publication of the euro zone GDP figures. Publication comes amid recent fears growing over the global economy and the recent agreement to give Greece a second bailout.
Eyes are drawn to the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, as former UN employee Callixte Mbarushimana appears charged with five counts of crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009. Mbarushimana is also believed to have been involved in the Rwandan genocide, but has never been charged over the atrocities.
Angola also hosts a summit of the Southern African Development Community in Luanda on Wednesday. The two-day affair is expected to focus on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his refusal to fully implement the Global Political Agreement, as well as the recent fuel protests in Malawi.
Pope Benedict XVI makes an apostolic journey to Madrid on Thursday, to attend a gathering of Catholic youth to mark World Youth Day. Visit includes a Holy Mass at Cuatro Vientos Airport on 21 August.
In the UK, thousands of students learn what their future holds when A Level results are published on Thursday, and students scramble for (often) oversubscribed university places.
Friday sees the last day in office for Romanian Health Minister Attila Cseke, who tendered his resignation earlier this month following a dispute over funds for his brief. Under Romanian law Cseke had to continue his post for 15 days at a maximum until Prime Minister Emil Boc nominated a successor.
On Saturday the UN Panel of inquiry, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, is expected to release its report. The report has been delayed several times, most recently from 27 July, and could well be postponed again.
The 2011 Homeless World Cup begins on Sunday, giving homeless and socially marginalised players from across the world the opportunity to represent their country at the beautiful game.
On Sunday a national memorial service takes place in Norway, commemorating the 77 people who were killed in the 22 July Oslo bombing and Utoya shootings. Ceremony takes place in Oslo Spektrum and was announced by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg ‘to take care of each other and show compassion’.
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