Witness Statement of: Khadija Yahya

Number of statements: 1Exhibits: 1

Date of statement: 01 June 2018

GRENFELL TOWER PUBLIC INQUIRY

WITNESS STATEMENT OF KHADIJA YAHYA

I, KHADIJA YAHYA, will say as follows:-

1. This statement is my account of events that took place on Tuesday 13th June

2017 into the early hours of Wednesday 14th June 2017, which I make for the purposes

of Phase 1 of the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. I would wish to make a further

statement to address issues falling to be dealt with in Phase 2 of the Inquiry.

Background

2. My name is Khadija Yahya and I am a core participant to the Inquiry. My date

of birth is

3. I was born in Morocco but brought up in England. I have lived in Lancaster

West Estate for 38 years. I moved, with my husband, Mohamed to Grenfell Tower

around 1986 after the birth of our first child. We lived in Flat 42 which is now the

sixth floor of the Tower. Prior to the refurbishment it was the fourth floor. We then

moved to Barandon Walk and have been living here for over 20 years. Our flat is in

the middle of the first floor of Barandon Walk. We have a balcony off our living

room, which has a view of the south and east facades of the Tower.

4. I live in the flat with my husband, Mohamed my daughter,

Ikram and my son, Mohamed

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and I rent the flat, which is in both of our names. We have been here for some time

and it is home. We had no intention of moving and were very happy here. We have

grown up around the area and all of our friends and family live locally. Both my

brother and sister live within a stones throw distance. My sister can see the Tower,

which is opposite her house.

5. I have three other daughters who live locally too. The eldest is Rabia

Then there is Elham Ebtissam

at the time of the fire lived

6. My three eldest daughters are married and I am a grandmother to six beautiful

grandchildren. I look after my grandchildren when my children are at work and any

other time they want to come over. My house was always known as Narma's house'.

7. Rabia lived at Flat 152 of Grenfell Tower. I can see her flat from my balcony.

It used to be on the fifteenth floor but, following the refurbishment, changed to the

eighteenth floor. She lived in a two bedroom flat which had windows on both the east

and south facades of the Tower. She lived with her three children who is twelve

years old, who is nine years old and who is four years old. Rabia was

pregnant at the time of the fire with my granddaughter,

old. was named after a good friend of ours,

fire.

8. Rabia's children

they would pass my house.

Community

who is now six months

who died in the

every morning and afternoon

9. We have a very stable community. Once people are housed here they rarely

move. There are no problems. Everybody gets on despite their heritage or culture.

There is a complete mix of people: the lady next door is from Trinidad, across the hall

there is a family from Pakistan, there are English, Spanish and Arabs living in

harmony. Everybody is friendly and well-mannered and we recognise almost

everybody to at least say hello to.

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10. I would say our community spans from Latimer Road right back to Golden

Road. A lot of people know me, if not directly, know our families. We have all gone

to school here and our children have grown up together. Even our grandparents have

the same circle of friends. It is very much a tight knit community.

1 1. I have a lot of very close friends and family here. There are a number of

families who live in the area who have come from the same town as my family back in

Morocco. We all know each other very well. We would go to each other's weddings

and socialise quite frequently. Everybody knows everybody.

14th June

12. Around early evening, Rabia had called me to tell me that

may have to go to hospital. I told Rabia to come and stay

at mine but she was adamant that we were only two minutes away and, worst case

scenario, I could pop up to hers if she needed to take him. From that point onwards I

felt a low level of anxiety and quite tight chested. I have allergies so put the tight

chestiness down to this and took an antihistamine.

13. Mohamed recommended that I take a little nap instead of going to Mosque

with him. We don't sleep very much during Ramadan but because I was feeling quite

unwell I decided to lie down. I didn't rest any longer than around half an hour. I have

no concept of the times but this may have been around 12am to lam.

14. Mohamed returned from Mosque. We were all downstairs in our bedrooms at

the time and he came into our bedroom to get changed. The house phone started to

ring. We have a house phone downstairs so I picked it up. It was my sister, who lives

on Clarendon Walk. From her house you can see the Tower in full view. She was

screaming "Rabia! Her house is on fire. Her house is on fire". I will never, ever

forget that scream. Even now, it echoes in my head.

15. I instinctively ran to our balcony to see the Tower. I opened the doors and as

soon as I stepped out I heard a man screaming at the top of his voice "Help me! Help

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me". I then heard sirens. The view is slightly hindered due to the angle of our balcony

but I could clearly see large flames around the lower-mid east facade of the building.

This was not like any other fire I have seen before. They were usually self-contained.

did not hear any fire alarms at any point throughout the night.

16. My memory and recollection is ban/ from here. I have some very clear, vivid

memories and others I have no recollection of. I have had to speak with the rest of my

family and friends to piece together what was happening and what I was doing. The

following account is my own unless otherwise stated.

17. When I saw the Tower on fire I went into a full-on panic mode. I threw on an

Abaya that was hanging up on the coat peg. All I was thinking was to get my daughter

and save her. I grabbed a scarf, put it on top of my head and started to run. At this

point the whole family were together. Mohamed was in tow. Ikram has since told me

that I was hysterical from the time my sister called and that's how everyone knew

something was wrong.

18. We all left the house together. I have later been told that Mohamed and

took a different route towards the Tower, which allowed them closer access. I

remember seeing extremely panicked and screaming "my sister, my

sister". Apparently, he just ran off. I didn't know where he went and I wasn't focused

on that either, which is extremely out of character for me because, usually, I am the

one organising and caring for everyone.

19. Ikram followed me. We left Barandon Walk and ran straight to Grenfell Road.

We followed Grenfell Road up away from Treadgold House and towards the Tower.

We managed to get so far as the grass verge on the corner of the south east façade

before being stopped by police.

20. I had slippers on but did not bring any phone, bag or anything with me. I felt so

focused on just trying to protect Rabia.

21. When Ikram and I arrived on the grass verge at the bottom of the Tower, my

friend Aziza grabbed me. I can't really remember what she said but she was on her

mobile phone frantically trying to let everyone know about the fire. She said to me that

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she had been ringing everyone's buzzers to get them out of the Tower but not

everyone answered. I understand now that Aziza was one of the first to get out.

22. When we arrived, the fire seemed to be in the same area as when we left our

flat. It was still on the east facade of the building but, because of the size of the flames

and the amount of smoke, it was difficult to figure out exactly where the fire was.

23. By now, most of my extended family had also arrived at the Tower. I

remember my brother and my sisters running over to me. There were a lot of other

people surrounding the building as well. I think it was around lam to 1:15am. I

remember looking up to the Tower and seeing people above the flames on the same

side of the building, screaming, crying and waving for help. There were a lot of

people around me on the grass who were also crying and screaming for help. I

remember seeing a lot of familiar faces but not really acknowledging anyone. I think

I may have seen some of the El Wahabi family, who are close friends of ours, but I

cannot recall exactly who. Everyone seemed to be desperate to help. Some,

particularly the younger ones, wanted to go in. My son-in-law's brother, Ubaida got

into a fight with a policeman because we could see pools of firefighters congregating

on the grass verge but doing nothing. It just seemed to fuel everyone's frustration.

24. The smoke started to become overbearing from where we were stood

underneath the sports centre. The police started to push us back, which is when the

debris apparently started to fall. I don't remember seeing any debris; I just remember

focusing on the fire and smoke. The police pushed us back to Avondale Park Road

where we congregated. We were stood on the corner by number forty, where the road

meets Threshers Place.

25. Tension was mounting as we were watching the fire spread. Within ten

minutes of being outside the fire shot up the right hand column of the east facade

(Exhibit ICY-1). I think this would have been 1:15am-1:45am. It seemed like there

was a pipe that the fire spread up. It shot up as fast as you can imagine. It was like

switching on a torch. It looked like petrol or gas had been sprayed on the pipe. I

didn't feel like I could be any more panicked but when I saw how quickly it spread I

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felt completely helpless and more overwhelmed than I could cope with. I felt

hysterical.

26. The fire seemed to veer round towards the north façade across the top of the

Tower and then come back round the east facade and head towards the south façade.

As it started to come back round the building towards the south facade it was heading

towards Rabia's flat.

27. I was in sheer panic and could not bear to look at the devastation unfolding

before my eyes, but my head was unable to move. There was a constant background

noise of people screaming but my eyes were fixated on Rabia's flat. I knew she was in

there and I knew I couldn't help her.

28. My sister covered my face with her scarf so I couldn't see how the fire was

developing. I remember collapsing. I don't remember what I was saying but I

remember being absolutely hysterical. My sister and my sister-in-law were trying to

lift me back to my feet; each of them held me underneath my arms but I had no

strength. I was inconsolable and my legs would not work.

29. I am unsure of timings but it may have been around the 2ain mark when the

fire reached Rabia's flat. I think this because I vaguely remember my brother

encouraging people to drink water. It would have been the last opportunity for the day.

However, I was unable to concentrate on anything but Rabia's safety.

30. At some point during the course of the evening my son had returned to the flat

to collect our phones. Rabia called and was initially speaking to Mohamed. He put

her on speaker phone and someone passed the phone to me. She was saying her

goodbyes. She was very calm but telling me she loved me and asking me to let her

dad know that she loves him very dearly. She said she was going to pray and would

call back. I knew these could potentially be her final moments.

31. I was still on the floor at this point unable to comprehend the gravity of what

was going on. I remember a few minutes later Rabia calling back. She was on

phone and told us that the fire had hit her flat. She had gone to her neighbours to take

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shelter but the fire was worse at his and he was trying to jump from the window.

Mohamed and my brother were demanding her to leave. They were pleading with her

and telling her to get wet towels to cover their faces. She said the smoke was too bad

but thank God, she eventually agreed to try.

32. Rabia stayed on the line as she tried to escape but didn't talk. We could hear

their footsteps running down the stairs and other people's screams then suddenly,

nothing. I truly believed she had died. I was completely inconsolable and think I

fainted. Everything is a blur from here onwards.

33. I remember coming round and hearing someone who sounded really far away

saying"! can hear footsteps. She is coming. She is alive. Wake up". Someone was

trying to rouse me with the reassurance that Rabia was alive. I thought this was all a

horrific dream; I felt so disorientated. I don't know who told us that Rabia was out of

the building; on street level, everybody seemed to be in contact with everybody. By

contrast, the emergency services did not seem to know much, or at least gave no

information away.

34. I could not walk so my friend, Asma ran to

get her car. She drove it as close to where we were as she could. I remember everyone

who was surrounding me holding me from every angle and leading me to the car. My

feet felt gone and my legs just weren't working.

35. The ambulances and fire brigade had congregated around Bomore Road and

there were so many road closures so we had to go around the back of Nottingwood

House, past St Helens and back up towards Latimer Road. The road itself was closed

off and I knew that if I wanted to get to Rabia, I had to do a little walking. My friends

helped me out of the car.

36. The first thing I saw was I think this was roughly around 3:15am-

3:30am. He was some distance away but I instantly knew it was him. He was being

wheeled out on a stretcher by paramedics. I remember feeling that I needed to go and

help and protect him. No one else was with him and I knew he needed me.

Instinctively, something kicked in to pull myself together. I ran but was unable to get

through the police who were pushing people back. I saw being taken into an

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ambulance and Lkram and her uncle, Mohamed standing outside the ambulance.

didn't appear to be breathing. Paramedics were giving him oxygen and trying

to revive him. I started to look for Rabia, and

37. There were people all over the place; some were sat on the floor, others

standing. I saw Rabia and the girls standing next to a tree near the station. I ran over to

her and she hugged me. I was there for a matter of seconds before being pushed away

again. The medics were saying that they needed to treat these people and trying to

clear the area. The next thing I remember is being pushed back by someone shouting

"Move! Move! Move!" I went to the bus stop and sat down. I knew they were alive

and was crying with relief.

38. I think I was at the bus stop for a matter of minutes before my husband.

Mohamed arrived. He said that Rabia had been taken into the pub to be treated. He

took me over to see her but the police would not let us in. Mohamed was pleading with

them to let us in. They began pushing and shoving us back. They were so rude. My

nephew nearly ended up in a fight with one officer because he saw the policeman push

Mohamed. I understand now that they were just doing their job but they had no

sympathy. Everyone was shouting to let us in and eventually, Mohamed just pushed us

through.

39. In the pub I saw Rabia and being given oxygen. They were sat

down and all seemed to be ok. Rabia couldn't talk but was nodding her head and

acknowledging our questions. It was all very overwhelming and I have no recollection

of the conversation itself or timescales but remember thinking "thank God they are

ok".

40. Shortly after, they were taken into an ambulance but we were not allowed with

them. My nephew got his car and took Mohamed and me straight to the hospital.

When we got there, the girls had been separated from Rabia, and had become

frantic. She wanted her mum so I had to make a choice: Mohamed and I should split

up. He agreed to stay with whilst I went with she needed a familiar

face. I hugged her and tried to keep her calm.

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Aftermath

41. My grandchildren were sent to a specialist hospital, away from Rabia for

treatment. I am still unsure of timescales but was the first one to recover. I

think Rabia must have sheltered her from most of the smoke inhalation.

42. Rabia was in hospital for about three and a half weeks.

43. As a family, we visited Rabia and the grandchildren every day. I would go

early morning and leave as late as the nurses allowed me to. On the days I visited

Rabia, Mohamed would visit the grandchildren and vice versa.

44. It was so overwhelming to see my family so injured and vulnerable. It is all a

bit of a blur and all that really stands out during this time is how much I prayed. I am

normally a very strong person who holds the family together but I have never felt so

utterly hopeless in all my life. Seeing your child in that state and not knowing if she is

going to live is one thing; having to experience that day in day out over what felt like

an eternity is another. It was the hardest thing I have ever been through.

45. I do not know how long each of them was in

was the first to physically recover, followed by

Rabia.

hospital for but

• and finally,

46. During this time, my life was upside down. We were not able to go home and

had to stay with my brother in Camelford, near Clarendon. We had nothing and had to

rely on friends and family to do whatever they could to help. For short while we had

no car. The whole time just seemed like we were living on autopilot in absolute chaos.

47. After about three or four weeks after the fire, the police were allowing people

home but told neighbours that it was at their own risk. No one knew if the Tower was

stable and we all lived in fear of it collapsing. I thought 'if it was God's plan for us to

die, it would have happened on the night of the fire' so we made the decision to return

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home. We needed our things and to try to get back to normality. When we got home

there was a stench from the tire lingering around whole area. It was a constant

reminder of the lives lost.

48. After moving back in we were told about two or three times that we needed to

evacuate. Every one was so unsettled and the slightest thing would instill panic. On

one occasion, someone was smoking and it set a wave of panic that there was a fire.

Another time, there was a suspected gas leak on the other walkway. There was a

strong police presence which was unnerving. Sometimes we had no gas; sometimes

we had no electricity. Being at the flat was not like being home as it was before the

fire.

Media Coverage

49. The media has made things so much more traumatic for our family.

50. When Rabia was in a coma, there were reporters pretending to be related to her

so they could get more information. I could not believe it. I had to give the hospital a

list of people who were allowed to visit and then give the visitors a passcode so others

couldn't sneak it. It was crazy. Because of this, I have been reluctant to speak to

anyone and have not given any other statement.

51. There were also occasions when I was outside being comforted by other

residents and undercover journalists were hovering, edging closer to hear what we

were saying.

52. My sister had a drone hover over her balcony and my son was receiving

telephone calls asking for more information.

Aftermath

53. None or the grandchildren have been settled since the fire. My children are

with them most of the time and try to reassure them but they are scared too.

54. Rabia has been in temporary accommodation but has recently been given keys

to a new place. Rabia and the grandchildren still see Grenfell Tower as their

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home. Whilst they don't want to go back, they cannot seem to move forward. I

talk to Rabia almost every day and see her every few days.

55. It is so sad when I see my four year old granddaughter talking about her "dead

friend" who was "burnt in the fire".

56. My physical health has worsened since the fire and I am having medical tests

for this. My sleep is now disturbed and I am constantly waking up in a panic, it has

affected my mental health. Almost a year later, this has not ended. The feelings of

being so hopeless haven't gone away. I know physically my family have almost

recovered but the fear of nearly losing them that night haunt me. There is also the

visual reminder every time I look at Rabia's throat — there is a big scar that is unlikely

to fade much more. I keep trying to reassure myself that God has intentions for them

to stay and that's why they survived that night, but it does not eliminate that fear. We

knew a lot of people who died in the Tower, including our dear friends, the El-Wahabi

family and, even though my family survived, life will never be the same again.

Statement of truth

I believe that the facts stated in this statement are true.

I am willing for this statement to form part of the evidence before the Inquiry and to

be published on the Inquiry's website.

Signed:

Dated: Ot 06— -ac)V-2

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