Blaze highlights social divide

Safety neglected to favor the rich, residents claim

LONDON - Within a short walk from the social-housing block in west London where 17 people - and likely many more - died in a devastating fire are some of Britain's wealthiest streets, lined with elegant, multimillion-dollar townhouses.

The borough of Kensington and Chelsea is famous in Britain and beyond as the home of pop stars and other celebrities, jet-setters and bankers.

But it also has pockets of deprivation like the housing estate where the doomed 24-story Grenfell Tower stands.

Dozens of residents are missing and authorities expect the death toll to rise further after an inferno engulfed the building with terrifying speed as residents slept in the early hours of Wednesday. The lucky ones got out alive, but have lost everything.

On Friday, The Sun newspaper listed 65 people who it said were still missing or feared dead.

The disaster has prompted an outpouring of generosity, with shocked Londoners donating so many clothes, shoes and bedsheets that volunteers were soon overwhelmed.

But on the streets around the charred carcass of the tower on Thursday, there was palpable anger as people accused the local authority of neglecting the safety and well-being of the poor in favor of policies favoring the interests of the rich.

Alia Al-Ghabbani, a receptionist who lives on the estate, was among many angered by a recent refurbishment in which new cladding was added to the exterior of the building and which media reports have said might have played a part in the rapid spread of the fire.

"It's really irritating why they prettied up the tower. It's because that tower was such an eyesore for these people in very expensive houses just opposite," she said.

The fire service has said it was too early to know what caused the blaze, and the local authority has said the refurbishment was designed to improve the residents' quality of life.

Community organizer Pilgrim Tucker, who had worked closely with residents of Grenfell Tower during the refurbishment period, saw the blaze as the tragic consequence of long-term neglect of an entire section of the community.

"People here in the social housing know they've been neglected," she said, visibly distressed as she spoke. "If government was doing its job, this wouldn't have happened."

As Tucker and others reported that fire-safety concerns raised by residents had fallen on deaf ears, the fallout from the disaster fed into the broader political picture.

In a shock election result last week, the ruling Conservatives, who emphasize fiscal discipline, low tax and pro-business credentials, lost ground to the opposition Labour Party, which favor more public-service spending.

Tale of two cities

To general astonishment, the Kensington parliamentary constituency, where the Grenfell Tower stands, was won by Labour for the first time in its history.

The new Labour MP Emma Dent Coad has been quick to try to make her mark, criticizing the council, in a newspaper interview, for perceived safety failings and saying the tragedy was preventable.

Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May visited Grenfell Tower on Thursday, but was criticized for speaking only to firefighters and not to residents.

In contrast, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was cheered after visiting a nearby church and meeting residents and volunteers helping out, with locals shouting "thank you for coming".

"Something you can't avoid is that Kensington is a tale of two cities," Corbyn told reporters.

"The south part of Kensington is incredibly wealthy, it's the wealthiest part of the whole country. The ward where this fire took place is, I think, the poorest ward in the whole country."

Reuters - Xinhua