Monday 26 September 2011

Tragedies In The Time Of ‘Political Sensitivity’

With their heads bowed scores of firefighters remembered Hanin Kua, 14, sister Basma, 13, mother Muna Elmufatish, 41, and little brothers Mustafa and Yehya, aged five and two who were killed when a fire swept through their home in Neasden, north west London in the early hours of yesterday.
Is this normal?
Crest Academy will be opening as normal tomorrow but there will be an assembly at 9.50am for students to pay their respects.

A counselling service for girls traumatised by the tragedy will be offered at the school by a children's bereavement agency.
OK, sadly, that’s normal these days, when schools feel compelled to ‘do something’ despite evidence that this doesn’t help and may even make things worse.

But this is surely not normal?
The fire is being treated as unexplained, and the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade have begun an investigation, a police spokesman said.

Matthew Gardner, Met Police borough commander, said it was 'not being treated as suspicious'.
I mean, if it’s unexplained, how can you rule anything out?

And as for this:
At a press conference this afternoon, he said officers would be making 'reassuring patrols' across the area in the coming days.
What? Why? This is surely not normal after a house fire, even one with such a body count?

This might be a clue:
The family are believed to be Palestinian refugees who came to Britain seeking a better life.
OK, now I’m beginning to see why this rather odd official response has been taken.

10 comments:

Budvar said...

Oh I see, they being Palestinian puts a whole new slant on it. Obviously a Mossad special op made to look like an unfortunate accident.

I mean it isn't as if fatalities caused though fire are statistically an everyday occurrence is it?

Oh wait latest UK statistics show there were 328 fatalities due to fire in the years 09/10. In addition to the fatalities, there were 8500 non-fatal casualties in the same period.

Oh yes, this particular tragedy has conspiracy written all over it...

JuliaM said...

" Obviously a Mossad special op made to look like an unfortunate accident."

Sadly, I wouldn't be too terribly surprised if this sort of rumour is what the authorities are afraid of...

Anonymous said...

Non-suspicious fires are nothing to do with the police.We may help close the road and inform relatives.Everything else is the job of the LFB.
What are reassurance patrols going to achieve? Tough on fires,tough on the causes of fires?
Or promotion for the senior police officer who thought of it?
Jaded

Greencoat said...

All the so-called 'Palestinians' would have a better life in their own back-yard if they stopped attacking Israel.

Captain Haddock said...

"Sadly, I wouldn't be too terribly surprised if this sort of rumour is what the authorities are afraid of" ...

Surely not .. and in any event, should a rumour like this take hold .. God forbid, Oi vay etc etc ..

Then I feel confident that a certain Anthony Charles Lynton Blair would become immediately available to pour oil on troubled waters .. for a fee, of course ..

John Pickworth said...

Post Napoleon; we were a nation of shop keepers.

Post Blair; we have become a nation of memorials and bereavement specialists.

Captain Haddock said...

@ JP ..

"Post Blair; we have become a nation of memorials and bereavement specialists" ...

Indeed .. as evidenced by the plethora of manky, mawkish roadside "shrines" .. tea-lights in jam jars & tatty teddies fastened to railings ..

JuliaM said...

"Post Blair; we have become a nation of memorials and bereavement specialists."

Spot on!

"...as evidenced by the plethora of manky, mawkish roadside "shrines" .. tea-lights in jam jars & tatty teddies fastened to railings .."

Oh, god, I loathe those! There's one near my mother's house, where a speeding moped rider misjudged a corner & ploughed into railings.

Cue much wailing from the family about the 'deathrap' corner and how there wasn't enough warning, despite the highly visible 'bend in road' signs.

Last time I went past, it was festooned with flowers. Plastic ones.

Anonymous said...

Palestinians? I thought they were desperate to have their own state?Which I think they are on the verge of doing.
Why were they here and not in a middle Eastern country ready to go home when the time came?
How much longer are we going to have to atone for the sins of the bloody Empire?

Jer said...

Greencoat - sadly I doubt it.

Which is presumably why this family came to the UK.