ATUC held a moving commemoration for Grenfell in Aberdeen on 14th June, remembering the
72 men, women and children killed one year ago this evening in a
terrible and preventable fire.
It began with a statement from the Justice4Grenfell, then around 50 people lit candles and wrote
messages of support to survivors, families and friends of those lost.
There were emotional speeches and poems and a clear message that we will not
forget and we will fight for justice for those who died and those left
behind. We thank all the speakers.
Leon Murray spoke on behalf of
Fire Brigades Union. Here is the speech he made.
"I’d like to thank Aberdeen Trades Union Council for
organising this event and inviting me to attend and I’d also like to thank you
all for coming here to take part in what, I’m sure you will agree, has been a
very moving event. It’s right that we remember what happened a year ago in this
way.
None of us will ever forget what we saw on our TV screens
when we woke up that morning, the shear horror of the event unfolding was
impossible to comprehend. As a firefighter it was no easier to believe, no
firefighter in the UK had ever dealt with a fire of that magnitude, it was a
fire that could not be prepared for, it should not have been able to happen.
Once we all realised that what we witnessed was real then
the questions started to be asked, and those questions remain largely
unanswered. How could this have happened, how could a relatively modern
building in one of the richest areas, of one of the richest cities in the world
be involved in a tragedy so horrific that 72 people, 72 innocent men, women and
children lost their lives?
