Musician Akala: People died in London fire 'because they were poor’
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- Опубликовано: 14 июн 2017
- Jon Snow spoke to the MOBO award-winning musician and writer Akala and local resident Joe Delaney about their response to the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London.
Akala told Jon Snow:
“The people who died and lost their homes, this happened to them because they are poor.
“We are in one of the richest spaces not just in London, but in the world.
“Repeated requests were ignored.
“There is no way rich people live in a building without adequate fire safety.
“Everyone I spoke to who was out there couldn’t hear alarms, there was no sprinkler system”
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"What did we wake them for?"
Heart wrenching words to say the least. Can't fathom what those people are going through right now.
That man is RIGHT. They died because they were poor. In one of the richest contries on earth.
Billy McAuliffe Their requests for adequate fire safety measures were repeatedly ignored. The money spent making 1 side of the building look less horrible(the side that rich people have to look at) could have been spent on those measures. Countless things can cause a fire blaming the fridge won't stop something like a cigarette causing it next time.
You fucking simpleton, a fire shouldn't of been able to spread that big off an exploded fridge. The fire spread because of shitty cladding that was put on the side of the building to make it look nice so the rich houses opposite didn't have to look at a block of flats. The emergency services couldn't even get to the flats quickly because of the one way road and other obstructions that the residents had complained about numerous times. The residents complained fucking loads about no safety in the flats, not enough fire extinguishers and shit like that, they even all signed a petition because of it and the fact that all of this was ignored is because their all poor. So fuck off with your simple mind you thick twat.
Billy McAuliffe Think about what you are actually writing.
Billy McAuliffe The other commentators. Read their posts.
Billy McAuliffe nonce
My heart goes to those who lost loved ones much love
lol
If you live in a high rise the first thing you want to buy is enough rope to reach the ground. I lived on the eighth floor and secured one to the floor through the bottom of a nice trunk by the window. My friends thought I was crazy, but the tenants that looked at the apartment before I moved and ultimately took over my apartment wanted the rope and trunk to stay too. So I sold it to them for the amount I was docked from my security deposit. A small price to pay for a piece of mind.
Dancing Deaddog 👏👍
I would need a rope at every window, as I wouldn't know which room would catch fire first...
LOL...I never considered a fire starting in my apartment, I just figured if a fire broke out it would be difficult to get out of the building. So the real question is...Have a backup plan or not?
I've definitely been thinking more about it since watching the TV a couple of nights ago and watching the tragedy happen in front of my eyes.
Dancing Deaddog
Very clever. Would be terrifying climbing down that, though. But I guess it's much better than dieing from smoke inhalation or burning alive.
Millions to make the building look prettier???? Why couldn't it be spent on making it safer! Pray for everyone is suffering because of this. My prayers and thoughts are with you. Yet another disappointment by the people who run our country
Because safer isn't in the rich people's interest, only view.
A young lady was on the phone to her mother during the fire. Her mother couldn't believe she wasn't being rescued.. "but your in London!". One of the richest countries in the world with complete contempt for poor people.
this guy is a legend he saved more then 10 human lives and his dogs
That's horrific. I survived a house fire as a kid and I am lucky to be alive today thanks to my Dad. So thankful I didn't go out like that.
Preach Akala. They're trying to make the buildings look good for people shopping at westfield. They should've put in more effort in fixing those flats like bloody hell. Clearly poor lifes don't matter. I can assure you if this was a rich area nothing of that sort would've happened. God have mercy on those soul that have died :'(
So I'm not from the UK, and I found it so odd how so many survivors were saying that they were sleeping while the fire started and spread. One even said that had it not been for a friend who called her to notify her that the building was on fire, she would not have known to leave. I was so confused, like how do you not know the building you're staying in is on fire? And then I stumble upon this video and find out that this building didn't even have alarms! No sprinkles, cheap cladding, no fire extinguishers. Not even at the very least an ALARM!
Also in London one of the most "advanced cities in the world"!
Welcome to Brexit Britain where life is cheap and no one cares about you.
The Residents kept raising concerns about the saftey of the building and yet they were ignored by the local authority.
dont hate on akala hes got more knowledge then everyone in the comments section combined
He's a wise guy, but he has some foolish bileves, like that the Egyptians were Negro (Black, Sub-saharan African, or w/e you call them).
@Lion 7.0 🦁 you cant know their skin colour. Just be at peace with it.
He was wrong in the first sentence - they died because of bad fire safety regulations. If they had been adequate they would have survived - and still would have been poor. He's very dishonest.
@@fuckamericanidiot way to show how dense you are mate. Of course they died because of the safety regulations, but why do you think they had bad ones? Because they are POOR. If it was a high rise of expensive flats for rich people they would damn well make sure the fire safety was up to standard. Stop looking at everything in such a basic, one dimensional way and apply some critical thinking for once.
V sad. Heart goes out to all effected. I drove water, clothes, toiletries from Oxford down to Kensington Temple. Lovely people. Hope everyone is doing as well as possible
i suppose haters are gonna hate. well said akala and sadiq khan it takes a very brave man to come out in public to speak in an hostile environment ... where are all the other leaders hiding as usual
Some people had bought their flats in that building. There is a old for sale add for one of the flats in that block costing £250K. It is not just because they were poor it is because the council outsourced the renovations to a incompetent company to carry out the work.
I would not say 10 million on renovations is due to poor poverty ridden residence, i'd say it is more overpriced cheap materials and corners cut by the contractor. The CEO and Directors of the company responsible for installing this cladding and insulation need to face manslaughter charges and put in prison not to mention pay every penny back they have had from the public purse as well as compensation.
What I find very enigmatic" is the fact that this same building was refurbished just over a year ago. This country has one of the most stringent fire policies in the world and this fast unprecedented fire takes place. This is an enigma, another confounding issue is why are the elderly and mothers with children always located at the very top of these buildings?
Wow. So only young single men, women and couples without children live on the lower floors? I didn't know that.
The comment section truly does take a few chunks out of my hope for humanity lol
It cost £3 million to fix the lifts and update the fire escape and £10 million to put pretty cladding on Grenfell because rich people didn't like the look of it.
And guess which option the tory council took.
A report states that a lot of the people that died inside the building were frightened to come out because of being illegal in the U.K.,another report says that there was much stuff in the corridors you would of had a problem escaping.
Safety and security should be a right for everyone. It should never be considered a privilege, because being lazy with simple and needed procedures for certain classes is inhumane.
_"There were no alarms"_
In this day and age, I find that hard to believe. If that is true then whoever signed that building off had better get a bloody good lawyer.
@Laura Nwogu You don't need power to not care. They had the power and therefore the responsibility, which they did not act on.
Akala: ' the cladding was racist'
Fucking moron
Thank you Akala for saying what we're all thinking.
absolutely tragic, this should have never ever happened
This is a very sad occurrence and I pray for the survivors. Mud huts in Africa would be much safer than tower blocks with the cladding in question. Shows you civilization isn't necessarily progressing.
Yes, but you stand a slightly higher chance of surviving if you jump out of a burning mud hut. Unless you choose one of those many high-rise mud huts.
Where's your humanity children?
Caves and igloos are fire proof too and that is just the tip of your incredibly moronic iceberg.
You know what else is safer than any building in a fire? Being outside.
This is what happens when you privatise public property ................and next they're coming for your healthcare.
All this speculation is deeply distasteful when people are still in hospital and looking for missing relatives.
That is so depressing he woke them to their death, this can't be covered up. The criminals who cut corners which saw families burned alive must be prosecuted.
if i'm correct its not a " Legal Requirement " in London & England to have sprinkler systems fitted into new and Old builds ? however i think it is in Wales.
While I get all the differing opinions and everyone has a right to one, what should be remembered is that many people from all walks of life died leaving friends and families grieving. I agree that people some who are in the public eye should respect those affected and I guess it's all about ratings for the news teams and credibility points for whichever artist is seen talking about or helping with donations. Some of the comments on here directed at each other is a shame in these circumstances. We have MP's who could not give a sh*t so ordinary people like us should show them up. Remember those who died through no fault of their own.
I shouldn't swear but that man and people like him are fucking heroes
fantastic reporting!
Not sure about the comment that no rich people living there. Type 'Grenfell Tower rightmove' in to google, first two links show two properties for rent for £1712 and £2145 per month, both two bedroom apartments. That sounds VERY expensive to me, i defo couldnt afford it. Anyway, terrible thing to happen :( very sad.
thats normal for london, they have a terrible housing crisis. people live in the most horrendous flats but pay a huge amount of money. londoners spend 2/3 of their income on rent.
Alina T why do people live in horrendous flats in central London if it's so unaffordable? why not live in a nice house in another city where they can afford to live. spending 2/3 or my money on renting/mortgage means I obviously can't afford to live there even if I do like the place.
if you go by that logic about 90% percent of the people living in london would have to move and the city would be empty. like i said, it's a real housing crisis, rents are incredibly high and people don't make that much money. they probably can't even afford to save up money to move if they wanted to.
the tower isn't even located in central london either
He is absolutely right. The people who died on the Titanic, and on the Marchioness, and, in the kings Cross fire, and, on the Zeebrugge ferry, and, in the Moorgate tube crash. They were also poor.
agree. from hearing this guy you imagine they live in a crackhouse with no locks on door like in 70's harlem.
and i find it disgusting lily allen, rita ora, jamie oliver. etc are using this as a platform to show they care. but have to make sure the camera is rolling to ensure the popularity boost and the right to blame whoever at a later date.
How patronizing.
with all the rich bankers in London it would have been pocket change for them to put sprinklers in every tower block. all the other block people should move out and camp out in central London to protest till their blocks are upgraded properly
If fire estinguishers can only reach 12 floors should blocks with 24 be allowed ? I don't think so. Safety should always come first. Some people want to be in thick of things and live in central London but at what price ? I sometimes imagine what would I do ? Build a giant parachute with bed sheets ? What a terrible position to be in, choosing how you die. Peace to their souls and hell to those responsible.
12 Dead as Massive Blaze Rips Through London Apartment Building: 'A Man Threw Two of His Children' Out of a Window.
Kudos to Channel 4 posting this clip. Not many other News agencies would do that.
I am still shocked. To this day. I will never forgive the government or the rich ppl for this
I didnt know that fires could tell the difference between rich and poor, you learn something new everyday
Was this filmed using a blue or green screen?
Nothing to do with being poor , this is blatant criminal negligence on the part of those who carried out the refit and the local authority who signed off the contract !
Also negligence on the part of the government for allowing this kind of cladding to meet building safety standards when architects were already saying it was flammable and for not requiring sprinklers and more than one fire escape.
Yeas indeed but the remit and responsibility falls under and with the Local authority
Local council who get their pockets lined by wealth developers.
Labour councillors. But hey, it's easier by tradition to bash the Tories right?
How come these poor people live in Kensington. Thats more of an outrage
And not a single Arrest!!! 😢😔😡
It's those bloody rich people that are to blame! No matter how much you spent on social housing, the underclass would fuck it up and say it's not good enough for them.
The British government has a lot to answer for and people should be going to jail for this! How many people lost their lives for this? I bet it's in the hundreds!
Well the answer is simple. All the tenants should form a class action law suit against their landlord, Kensington and Chelsea tenant management organisation (KCTMO) and rinse the mofo's of millions. And the good news is; you can take it all the way to the European court of Human Rights who will no doubt be happy to spank the incompetent, self-serving jobworths for a fortune.
Like everything in this twisted, selfish, uncivilised & un-evolved world it always boils down to that piece of paper
Who owned the building ? Do they not have a duty of care to the residents ? With all the H&S today how was the cladding approved for use on that type of building if it was such a fire hazard ?
No fire alarms ,sprinkler system or escape routes ?Do the fire authority not inspect these buildings anymore to make sure they are safe for occupation and certify them ? Plus how embarrassing to the whole world that London Fire Brigade did not have the correct equipment to tackle a fire of this magnitude. Do the authority's not risk assess any more ? This tragedy could have been avoided it should never have happened. RIP
Terrible, There's probably a lot of people to blame here, a lot of them probably have 10 bedroom houses they could put some of the now homeless up-.
How much was the rent in these flats?
Many London local authorities are looking at relocating their tenants far outside London. They can then sell the valuable land from estates like Grenfell House to big property developers. Grenfell will be replaced by speculative luxury developments for the British & International billionaire class.
Everyone is full of sympathy for the residents of Grenfell at the moment. But in a few months time, when they are told they will be relocated outside of London many miles away from their jobs, family etc will their stories still feature in the media?
To the people who lost loved ones.......Much 'Aroha' (Love).
This problem makes me so angry and it is not only in the UK.
For 'So Called' developed nations to allow their people to live in such dangerous conditions is simply a 'Disgrace'.
Yes, all the politicians gather and react 'After' the event but where were they when people urged the council to make this building safer?
Its the same the world over.........Money talks and if you don't have it........you and your Whanau (family) always end up paying the price.
Wouldn't it be nice to finally have a government who looks after 'Everyone'?
To the people affected ..........eternal love and i can assure you that, even half way across the world ......we are thinking of you all xxx
Jim (New Zealand).
Maybe the government would have done more if boiled human flesh was a greenhouse gas...
no point to immigrate to a rich country and die as a poor in a fire like that
Did not know fire only kills the poor.
so sad
I really think people deserve a minute silence. Terror victims (Middle class) always get all the attention. These poor people want get recognission at all such Bulshit
So Akala,by that logic nobody rich will ever die in a fire.People like this come out of the woodwork whenever there is a tragedy.The truth is fire does not discriminate on class lines otherwise the winsor castle fire would have stopped because of the majesty of the owners.Akala spreads division whenever he opens his mouth.
After reviewing the cladding issue of the building, they may have just as well piled firewood against the building and set it ablaze. Maybe that was the plan all along?
Why didn't they?
how do people not see that this is a green screen?
im surprised he didnt call it racism as well
How insulting to the tenants but i get his context. Its not the 'poor people' of the building who pay bldg management high fees. Its the developer's final decision on what to spend on, and some incompetency, minor infraction corruption in City Council to green light the refurbishment plans. People died, not because their 'poor' but because of others greed.
god help those poor people
Would all these people be rioting if it was a block of apartments owned & occupied by wealthy people that went up?
funny how everyone now seems to be experts on the cause,why it happened ,etc etc
Why is the Gov, not doing more 6 months on?
it seems to me that there was many people of different races and ethnicity, and yet akala wants to make a point about race. it's one thing to be statistical in learning how to strategise reforms or revisions, but more than that truth and honesty and not the need to trend race to every outcome. poor people and rich, is all you need to operate in with this topic.
I agree with this guy why wake them when they trapped anyway. I'd rather die in my sleep than suffer
the tragic treachery of human life, it fails and falls through air, for just a tiny short second, until there's nothing, but dispair.
we make charity available, to avoid how we are culpable, and hide behind streaming tears, but we could not put the fire out, and we let them die in fear.
money spent on stacking wood, to burn the paupers tower, for the rich rich tapestry of London cannot suffer any loss of power.
Some of the stuff being said in these comments is pretty horrendous.
The man is looking at the bigger picture, this sort of thing doesn't happen to wealthy people. Atleast on a scale where '12'-100+ people die or are gravely injured. Many precautions of fire safety weren't in place in this building and most of the people who have been interviewed or live in the area have gone on national TV and explained that they think the council and government are at fault, this has been an ongoing plea for a long time now.
I don't have a large understanding of this but even I can see these people have a right to be pissed off when they understand money has been put in the wrong hands for the wrong reasons (Like spending 10 million on highly flammable material that makes the building look prettier to the surrounding area. Instead of sprinkler systems and fire escapes that don't need a one man fob to open). Alot of you seem to disconnect from the fact people, all kinds of people, died in this fire.
Instead of flaming on RUclips about Akala who is doing a RIDICULOUS amount more for that area over the past two days for these people than you or I could even think to do, maybe try listening to the man next to him aswell and understand how fucking tragic this shit is. A mother feared for her own life and her baby's life so much that she dropped it out the window hoping the person below would catch it. People jumped from the building. A woman escaped with her six children and only made it out with four. Have some fucking humanity, it's horrible.
For those of you who think he's got no leg to stand on talking about these things, how about you go down there for five minutes and tell him otherwise. Read other comments, listen to people that have first hand experience with this stuff. Stop blindly ignoring one guy on the news because you think he's racist or classist and you don't agree with his view because your experience is different. Nobody fucking cares.
RUclips comment section - Toxic blind drivel
Me - A clueless idiot who's just joined in.
How did the fire start? Did it have something to do with either their own poverty, or their culture?
leader Nick Paget-Brown said there was not a "collective view" among residents in favour of sprinklers.
nothing to do with being poor ..AKALA ..........the hassle of having sprinklers was not agreed ............
towering inferno scenario affects every similar building....whatever your income......
You can buy fire alarms yourself though, you don't have to rely on the council for everything. It's still very sad.
Fire alarms should of been installed there since day one
Social cleansing!
It's true. it was an eye sore. how did the company who did the work make 3 million profit?
if you don't have fucking nice things to say, don't say them
if that was you i'd be laughing lol
some of the victims weren't poor, they were privately renting their flats. In any country the richer you are,the more able you are to afford a safer life-style. I respect Akala a lot, but let's not turn this into a class war thing.
Does this guy just pop up whenever there's a camera and a controversy!?!?
I don't know why Adele (54 Million), Lily Allen (16 Million) and J K Rowling's (1 Billion), don't just buy all the victims and their families new homes.
If you don't like it get a fucking job and then you can live wherever you like.
this is not about rich and poor ? its just a tragedy , these buildings were built in the 70's , blame the construction company and not the rich ? the rich wouldnt wish this on anyone !!
Rich people put panels on that building it to accelerate the fire!! it was a inside job!
This is obvious neglect and a waste of 10 million. They prettied that building for tourism knowing it was flammable and there is no fire regulations inside the building.
Classic Government.
Giving the image of helping and caring, heres 10 million.
Really they just didn't want the eyesore and the people inside dont even have sprinklers or alarms, as they put this flammable stuff all over the building
Throughout history the poor have suffered and the rich have lived in luxury, isn't Akala just pointing out the obvious? I'm not saying his opinion or this case should be ignored/underrepresented of course
I do not understand this comment. Whether it was private rental or government supported, these flats rented at 2,000 a month. This is not cheap. Admittedly things have gone disastrously wrong and I am sure we will know the reason in due course but no where in London is cheap now. Even the more grim places are still 300k plus because sadly that is what London has become. Questions will have to be answered about the due diligence of the refurbishment but in the end this was just a tragic accident.
So who are the dead at Grenfell Tower ? By name ? Are their names published somewhere ? Were they Brits or immigrants? Where were they coming from?How many years lived in the UK ? Were they poor because of what causes?Why were they not able to live in houses safer than this high rise apartment building?
What about hotel fire in Dubai during new years eve 2015 ? I bet the guests in the hotel were poor as a church mouse.
Nobody died in the Dubai fire - they have better planning regulations in Dubai more than one fire escape for a start.
That hotel was new and there were only few guests at that time.
I bet there would be even more deaths than in the Grenfell Tower if it happened during night with full occupied hotel.
it is organized violence at the top which creates individual violence at the bottom. emma goldman
Rich Akala said so
the timings are not right. Someone is lying.
This guy talks like he's educated then comes out with a statement like this.... If we didn't look after poor people in this country they would be living on the streets as they do in America not living in blocks of flats??! Yes the situation is terrible and should never had happened but for someone who claims everyone else preaches hate he does a pretty good impression himself
WTF dude!!They did not die because they were poor, they died because of lack of fire codes 1. One stairwell for 24 floors 2. no fire alarms 3. no sprinklers 4. no fire hoses on the higher floors 5, firefighters telling people to in their homes because they thought they could get the fire under control
Jeyze alot of people hate on Akala because he talks about Racial matters mainly. He does because there is so much ignorance and damage and unfairness due to it. Both socially, internationally and economically. It might suit you to act like these issues dont exist but he is using his voice to speak for those who cant be heard. He started off as a conscious educated rapper before he touched TV screens.
Here he is speaking TRUTH once again, that's all he does. Speak truth. Nobody can counter act anything he says. He has educated you all on something you didnt know and was not going to hear from any white politican, MP etc.
But i read the comments and all i see is white people "Im surprised he didnt mention Colour again, agenda this and agenda that"
What Agenda? Not everyone who talks SENSE politically wants to be an MP or Priminister!!!
He's an example of what a democracy should consist of
Social Awareness, opposed to being Programmed by TV and programs
Boldness not scared of the system and stepping out of line
A Voice, Using it to discuss and voice whats not being said.
Ya'll showing YOUR REAL TRUE COLORS.
"He's a twat, always angry at the system, blaming the rich for the poor being poor"~
The absolute realest. Such an underrated artist too.
Akala speaking the truth
Damn those evil rich people! Will they stop at nothing to make the poor suffer!!