They came in their hundreds to Potters Field, a small patch of green next to City hall, near London Bridge, where the terrorists killed seven and injured 48 on Saturday. It was raining as the strong gale battered London, people in hundreds stood united in solidarity, in rain coats and umbrellas, holding placards with catchy slogans and lay wreaths or flowers to pay their tributes. They came to pay homage to the dead, as well as to the fatally wounded, especially those who are fighting for their lives in the hospitals. For many attending the vigil called by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Monday evening was a case of 'it could have been us', and for some it was a proof of their identity as a British as well as a Muslim, condemning terrorism- making their voices heard.
Attending the vigil was Sabbah Uddin Ahmedi from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, who is training to be an imam. Speaking exclusively to Asian Voice, he said, “My responsibility is to take the true message of Islam out there. So people should know what Islam teaches and they should know that the attacks on London bridge are not in the name of Islam. People who attack and kill people are not Muslims. Quran does not teach this at all. These attackers are just criminals. We should respond by showing unity and brotherhood, being part of this vigil and show people what the true message of Islam is.”
Deepa Mathew was also attending the vigil with two of her friends. While she was asked by few participants if she was a Muslim or even religious, Deepa felt it was her duty as a British Indian to show her support to her fellow Londoners. Speaking to the newspaper she said, “At the vigil today everyone was so nice and supportive of me. Some people even told me that it's ok they understand that it's not my religion and that it is wrong and it's just caused by some bad people.
“Not sure whether I should be proud of my fellow Londoners who came forward to support Muslims despite of the heinous acts committed in very heart of London in the name of Islam or be offended that they assumed I am a Muslim because I am brown. And worst of all assumed that I am religious enough to care.
“I felt like shouting at the pitch of my voice that I am here to show my support to my fellow Britons and not driven by any religious motives. I am in fact a born Hindu, taught by Angelican nuns, lived life bordering Atheism, later saved by Spirituality and married to a Catholic- I am a true Brit-Indian by all means.”
J Deva who was also at the vigil told Asian Voice, “It was wonderful to see so many people coming forward to support each other, even battling such a bad weather. Londoners are well known for their resilience and I am proud to be a born Hindu, British and a Londoner.”
Jasvir Singh OBE on behalf of London Faiths Forum and Deesha Chadha of Hindu Forum of Britain lay flowers outside City Hall to pay their respects. Speaking to Asian Voice, Jasvir said, “It was important for the diverse communities of London to show our unity solidarity at the vigil at City Hall. The terrorists want to divide us, but all they are managing to do is bring us closer together. However, we can't let these attacks become the 'new normal' for the capital.”
Mayor Sadiq Khan led the vigil and was joined by senior officers from the Metropolitan Police, as well as paramedics and fire crews, for an emotional service in Potters Field Park, near City Hall.
The Archbishop of Canterbury was also on hand to pay his respects to the victims of the attack.
Speaking to a multi-cultural audience and flanked by Amber Rudd and Diane Abbott, Khan said London would never be 'broken by terrorism' and that extremism would be beaten.
He said: “We stand together tonight to honour the memories of the innocent lives lost and people injured in the barbaric attack on our city.
“London stands in defiance against this cowardly attack and our city and our people and our values and our way of live.
“As the Mayor of London I want to send a clear message to the sick and evil extremists who commit this hideous crimes; we will defeat you. You will not win.
“And as a proud and patriotic British Muslim I say this: you do not commit these disgusting acts in my name. Your perverse ideology has nothing to do with the true values of Islam and you will never succeed is dividing our city.
“We send our love to the victims’ families and all those injures and we thank our courageous emergency services and the brace Londoners who risked their lives. You are the best of us.
“Our city is filled with great sorrow and anger tonight but also great resolve and determination. Because our unity and love will always be stronger then the hate of the extremists.
“London will never be broken by terrorism. We will defeat the terrorists.”
Chief Supt Raj Kohli, who is a Senior Public Order Officer with the Met Police, is qualified to control, order and command big and serious crowds at events. When the Westminster attack had taken place, he was in charge of handling the panicked and displaced people. This time he was on stand by, and as not in charge of managing the crowd at London bridge at the wake of this attack. But he fears that there are chances of racial attacks increasing in the coming days. Speaking to the Asian Voice exclusively he said, “Usually Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims are targeted after such incidents. Don't accept any misbehaviour towards you and must tell the Police wherever you are. We are there for you.”
London observed a minute of silence at 11am on Tuesday to remember lives lost and those who have been victims of such heinous attacks.
Brit-Indians witness attacks
Londoners who have always been resilient and fought the fear of terror since the 7/7 bombing, have this time gone an extra mile to make sure everybody has the support they need.
In fact a photo of victims fleeing the horrific attack in London Bridge has become a surprising symbol of Londoners’ resilience.
This is because one of the people caught up in the attack, part of a crowd running away from the scene, is holding his pint of beer.
The unnamed man managed to run down the road clutching his drink, without spilling even a drop.
Witnesses have come forward describing how they saw van crushing people, people lying in pool of blood or terrorists slashing people down, before they realised it was a terror attack
On Facebook a page was launched immediately to mark oneself safe, but what was new was people having a provision to let others know if they could offer any sort of help- whether it's with counselling, shelter in their spare room or blood donation. And many people from various nationalities and faith, living in different parts of London or outside were seen offering whatever help possible.
Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed that so far no Indians have been reported as killed or injured, but the High Commission of India has immediately opened up a public response unit for people who needed any help or information. The number to be contacted is: 02076323035 and also advised people to check the Met police website before they ventured out.
Well known mythologist and professional story teller Dr Seema Anand's family member Varun was out and about in London Bridge area last night when the event unfolded. With taxis and trains suspended, he had to stay the night with his friend. Seema on a post in Facebook said, "all the people who asked, thank you for your concern, Varun was at London Bridge, but he is fine."
Naomi Canton, a journalist by profession, who had lived in Mumbai for few years, is a resident of St Albans- a city outside of London. She travelled to London on Saturday evening to watch a Finnish film on refugees at Curzon Soho, London. On her way back home, she was stranded at Kings Cross St. Pancras station, which broke into chaos because of train cancellations. Both London Bridge and Kings cross St. Pancras stations are well connected by mainline trains and London Underground. After waiting for 1 hour one train was designated to take everyone home towards Bedfordshire. The train was of course over full and people cheered as it left the station. However the station did not have more than 2 unarmed police officers and they were completely flustered with calls and questions from stranded passengers.
Shweta Birla, originally from Delhi and her friend Rupesh Jaju from Sinnar, Maharashtra were near borough station during the attack, stones away from borough market and London Bridge station. They came out after watching the Champions League final and found the area surrounded by police cars and ambulances. Though they escaped unharmed, Shweta said, "I was there with Rupesh, everything was in chaos. It was really scary."
An Asian man who asked not be named told Asian Voice, his colleague was having dinner at London Bridge and got caught in this mayhem. He suffered fatal injuries in the hands of the terrorists and have undergone serious surgeries and remains critical.
Shilpa Shah said, “I was cycling home last night over Waterloo bridge around 9:30pm. I thought of going to a bar at London Bridge who make the best hot chocolate in the world (in my opinion). A minute later I realised I felt exhausted after a long day and decided to go home. I read the news about the London Bridge attacks when I got in. My breathing shallowed, my stomach clenched, tears surfaced. I immediately messaged friends and family who might have been in the area. My cousin had been there, but left five minutes before it happened. I thought of people hurt or killed and found it hard to get off my phone and to sleep that night.”
An Indian tourist, who identified himself as Ajay to The Guardian newspaper, was on holiday in the UK with his wife and two children aged 9 and 14. He said his family had abandoned plans to visit Manchester because of the attack in the Manchester Arena. They were in a restaurant at Borough High Street on the last day of their holiday, and suddenly panic erupted around them. They were supposed to fly back to India on sunday morning, but was unable to retrieve their luggage from the hotel after it was cordoned off by the police.
He told the newspaper: “We were just sitting having a pizza by the window. We saw a lot of police vehicles, we went out to see what was going on and we heard gunshots. At first we thought it was firecrackers, people celebrating the match (the Champions League final) but then we saw people running and ran into our hotel.”
An unnamed taxi driver shouted at people to watch out when he saw men armed with 12-inch hunting knives, stabbing people "randomly". He actually wanted to spin around his taxi and ram the attackers down with his cab, but the man stepped aside and police officers came running towards them with their batons drawn.
Another brave man told how he threw pint glasses, beer bottles and bar stools at crazed terror knifemen as they went on a stabbing spree near London Bridge.
Speaking to the BBC, the man named only as Gerard said: “I know it was a silly thing to do, but I was just trying to save people’s lives.”
He said he witnessed attackers stabbing a girl between ten and fifteen times.
Faith leaders react to the London attack
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "I am appalled and angered by the terrorist attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market, in my home city.
"These acts of violence were truly shocking and I condemn them in the strongest terms.
"Muslims everywhere are outraged and disgusted at these cowards who once again have destroyed the lives of our fellow Britons.
"That this should happen in this month of Ramadan, when many Muslims were praying and fasting only goes to show that these people respect neither life nor faith.
"My prayers are with the victims and all those affected. I commend the work of emergency services working hard to keep us safe and cope with the ensuing carnage.
"As ever we urge everyone to assist the authorities so that these criminals can be apprehended and brought to justice."
Mr. Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation commented, "I was verbally assaulted by Khuram Butt one of the London Bridge killers the day after the brutal murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013. This took place on College Green, Westminster. Khuram Butt was with Anjem Choudhury the well known extremist and terrorist sympathiser.
“Khuram Butt called me a "Murtad" which means traitor in Arabic and accused me of being a government stooge when I confronted Anjem Choudhury about him supporting terrorism and my public campaign against Lee Rigby's murder.
“The police turned up and Anjum, Khuram Butt and two other men were escorted away towards Millbank and I stayed in College Green.
“It is clear that Anjem Choudhury and his band of terrorist sympathisers were known to the Police for many years. Many of us in the British Muslim community have been demanding action against these extremists to no avail. I am not surprised that Khuram Butt carried out the terrorist attack and there are serious questions for the authorities.
“As in the Manchester terrorist attack, members of the Muslim community are reporting their suspicions about potential extremists which reinforces the strong links between the Muslim community and the police.
“What is clear that Anjem Choudhury, Khuram Butt and their group of terrorist sympathisers have been known to authorities and nothing was done for years.
“I call for an immediate investigation into what the police knew, what was done and why action was not taken against them.”
Mak Chishty of the Metropolitan Police read out the following statement on behalf of London Muslim community following the attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market.
"This terrorist attack is an attack on all communities, including Muslim communities.
"Every time a terrorist attack takes place Muslim communities either face or fear a backlash against them. The Muslim community appeals to all sections within their own communities to root out the scourge of terrorism which hides amongst their own people and masquerades as Islam.
"The Muslim community is alarmed and concerned that this attack by three people which would have required planning and yet was not reported. It is the Islamic duty of every Muslim to be loyal to the country in which they live and we are now asking questions - to understand how extremism and hatred has taken hold within some elements of our own communities.
"Terrorism and extremism is hurting Islam. Muslims must do more to stop such attacks from happening again and we want to know how we can play a greater role in the future."
Sanjay Jagatia, Secretary General, the Hindu Council of Britain said, “The Hindu Council UK is saddened, appalled and angered by the wicked, brutal and evil terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Our Thoughts, Prayers and Condolences are with those innocent people who have been killed and injured in this mindless attack.
“Once again we commend and pay tribute to our Police and Emergency Services who saved so many lives and continue to work hard to keep us safe. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude.
“The fact that this terrorist attack was carried out during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims pray and fast, just illustrates again that these people are not real Muslims, but are cowards who neither respect religion or life. Nobody from any Faith cruelly takes human lives to fulfil a religious need - This is an excuse to kill in the name of religion.
“We stand in solidarity with all the Faiths in the UK in condemning this atrocity.
“It is a difficult world we live in today - But we simply can not let this misguided and awful ideology to carry on affecting not just the people of UK but people across the World. Defeating this sick ideology is one of the greatest challenges the World has ever had to face and things are going to have to change......
“These cowardly, evil terrorists can never defeat the precious values which we hold at the heart of our great country.
“Prayers for all the victims who have been killed and injured will be held at Hindu Places of Worship across the UK. #WeStandTogether”
