I Nasrin Sadat

Witness Name: Nasrin SADATStatement No: 1

Dated: 21 May 2018

THE GRENFELL TOWER INQUIRY

Witness Statement of Nasrin Sadat

Netherlands, will say as follows:-

of The

INTRODUCTION

1. I am a Core Participant in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and I am the fiancée of Isahad Ncda,

son of Saber Neda, who died on the 23rd Floor of Grenfell Tower on the morning of 14 June

2017.

June 13 2017

2. A regular Tuesday passed by while I was doing my internship, which I did on a daily basis

from 07:00am - 15:30pm for my architecture study and combining my student job at the

warehouse from 17:00pm - 22:00pm. Working almost 60 hours a week made it very easy

for me to fall asleep, which is why I went to bed and said good night to my fiancé at

23:11pm my local time, and 22:11pm UK time.

,June 14. 2017

3. I was in a very deep sleep and did not notice my fiancé's WhatsApp text messages at

1:39am local UK time, telling me he is stuck in his house and the whole building was on

fire. Neither did I see the text messages that he was saying goodbye and asked me for

forgiveness if he had ever done anything bad towards me and telling me he always loved

me. I didn't know about the accident until he called me at 3:30am UK time. It was a voice I

had never heard from my fiancé. His voice was shaking and very distressed. He kept

saying "the building is on fire, me and my mum made it out but we lost my dad". I couldn't

believe what I was hearing. I told him not to worry and I will come as soon as I can. I

googled the accident straightaway and found the most terrifying and shocking images of the

fire. I got up very quickly, got ready ad grabbed my handbag, not knowing I would spend

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the whole summer in England, I was running down the stairs to make my way to my fiancé

at 3:40am UK time. My mum woke up from my footsteps asking me what was going on and

where I was heading to. I tried to tell her what had happened, but no clear words came out

of my mouth and she saw I was in tears and panicking. So I turned on the TV and put it on

BBC with the breaking news since I wasn't able to talk. I just showed her the building and

said that's the building Farhad and his parents live in. From there my mum tried to calm me

down and offered to drop me off at the Amsterdam airport.

4. Once I arrived at the airport at 4:30am I went to the service desk still in tears, telling them I

want the first ticket to London. After paying a large amount of money for my ticket I was

able to get on the first flight to London Heathrow (at 6:05am UK time). The 90 minutes I

had to wait for my flights seem like ages. I was still in tears whilst I googled news about the

Grenfell fire. I also tried to stay in contact with Farhad. It was very distressing for me not

knowing what state Farhad and his mum were in. I found it even worse that Farhad told me

that he wants to go back to look for his dad.

5. Just before I entered the plane I texted my mentor at my internship, telling her what had

happened, that I am on my way to London and I won't be at the office for the next couple of

days. As I entered the plane, I managed to call the warehouse where I worked, telling them

I won't make it to work that night and probably the next couple of days. Both of my jobs

were very upset at hearing the bad news and they were very understanding and supportive

throughout the following process.

6. I was crying throughout the flight and was very distressed not knowing what Farhad was up

to. Wondering all the time if he made his way back into the tower and what had happened

to his father. The view I had from the plane wasn't helping me either, thick black smoke was

covering London. The stewards tried to comfort me. They placed me in the front row so I

could get out of the plane before anyone else. They also gave me a bottle of water since it

was a hot day. One steward sat next to me for the whole journey trying to comfort me. She

gave me a box of lucky charms and told me to keep them close for good luck.

7. Once I arrived at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital I ran around until I found my way to

Farhad, he was in a room filled with many people, most of them were survivors from the

Grenfell Tower. Farhad was sitting up on the bed and he was covered in black smoke and

had a very strong chemical burning smell on him. My eyes filled up with tears seeing my

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loved one in this state, but I was happy to see him after all. I hugged him and stayed by his

side. He had lost his voice due the thick smoke. From the moment I arrived he was on his

phone trying to call his dad and neighbours to find out about his dad. Even though he could

hardly speak, he called many people and tried his best, until he couldn't breathe anymore.

The doctor told me they will take him to the Intensive Care Unit to look after him. From

then I was told to stay behind. After 10 minutes the doctor came out and told me not to

worry. They had put Farhad in an induced coma to make him breathe through machines and

to clean the dirt from his lungs and let his lungs recover this way. He said his lungs were

very damaged and he needed to be in the coma for at least 2 days, but this could take up to a

week.

8. I asked the doctor if! was allowed to stay next to his bed. He let me stay next to him. They

got me a chair and I sat there the next 48 hours while Farhad was in his coma. Even though

the hospital gave me a room close to the Intensive Care Unit, I refused to leave his side.

Farhad's uncle had arrived from Leeds to look after Farhad but also to search for his brother,

Saber. For the following days, he was the only support I had. He was also the one who

went out to look for his brother and to report him as missing with the police.

June 16 2017

9. At around midday, the doctor told me to come with him as they were going to bring Farhad

around and this was a difficult process, as patients who are put in a deep coma are in a

hypnotised state before they get conscious and awake. While waking up they can get very

distressed and hurt themselves. So they asked me to stay by Fahad's side and comfort him

with my voice while they woke him up, as he knows my voice. This was the first time I

heard about it and didn't know what to expect. When I went into the room they had

removed the tube from his mouth and he was about to wake up. Suddenly he opened his

eyes very wide and was trying to get up. It was very hard for me to see 4 people holding

him back while he was trying to fight them. I kept telling him to relax and everything is

fine. I was very pleased to see him calm down and wake up even though he didn't speak

and I was speaking all the time. It took him a while before he was fully awake and conscious

(about 2 hours). So it wasn't long before he started asking about his parents. We didn't tell

Farhad that his father was still missing until he was able to recover fully and leave the

hospital. We did tell him his mum was doing okay, even though she was in a critical state in

a different hospital. This was actually the first time I was able to eat. It was also on this day

that we got to meet the Family Liaison Officers, David Pearle and Joe Long.Nasrin SADAT Page 3

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June 18 2017

10. Just before Farhad was discharged the doctor including a psychologist came to tell him

about his parents' state since none of us could tell him, he took it very well. By 14:30pm

Farhad was discharged from the hospital. The Family Liason Officers wanted to talk to

Farhad after he was discharged. They told Farhad what the possibilities were for his father

and took DNA from him, asked about his dental records and description for his dad's

clothing. After this we went straight to see his mum in Kings Cross Hospital. This was also

the first time I got to see her. We found her in the Intensive Care Unit and she had just

woken up from her coma so she couldn't talk. Just her eyes were open, no more. I was very

saddened to see her that way. Farhad didn't look that bad when he woke up. That night the

hospital managed to give Farhad a room across the street where he was able to spend the

following two nights. That's how the following two days went by, all day at his mum's

bedside and late at night in the room across the street to go to sleep.

June 20. 2017

11. Farhad's mother was removed from the Intensive Care Unit and put in a different ward. She

was doing a lot better. It was on this day when Farhad's uncle told Farhad's mum that her

husband was still missing. It was also the day that Farhad got a temporary room in the

Copthome Tara Hotel. The following days we would travel all the way to Kings Cross, stay

there until late and at night we would travel back and sleep.

June 23 2017

12. While we were at the Copthome Tara Hotel we got a phone call from the Family Liaison

Officers at 20:12. Farhad turned as white as a paper. He said that Saber's body was

identified with the DNA Farhad had given them. The Officers came to see us that night to

tell us the bad news with very poor information. That he said the dental records, DNA and

the description we gave all matched.

June 24. 2017

13. This was the day I tried to organise my jobs and study. 1 informed them that my father-in-

law had passed away and that the following days we would organise the funeral and INasrin SADAT Page 4

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couldn't leave my fiancé alone at that point. By then I planned to stay by his side for the

whole summer holidays. I had to give up my job at the warehouse since I had no right for

paid absence and I had to send them a signed copy to cancel my job from July 2017

onwards. My study was more understanding and told me that I only had to do my end-

assessment for my internship to pass since I already gave in the paper. They said I could do

the assessment after the summer or whenever was good for me. That is what I did and

passed the year.

June 26 2017

14. This was the day that the Family Liaison Officer picked Fahad and I up at 13:00pm. We

had to go and confirm the body belonged to Farhad's dad. It was Saber. It was the first

time I saw a dead body and I found him unrecognisable. I only recognised him from his

hair. Only his face was

showing. The rest of his body was covered by purple sheets. I will never forget that image.

I found it very distressing and upsetting. Farhad confirmed that the body belonged to his

dad. Farhad was in tears just like me and his uncle. After we confirmed that the body

belonged to his father, we went to tell Farhad's mum the bad news.

June 30 2017

15. The day the funeral took place for Saber Neda. It started with prayers at 11:30am, burial in

Greenford Park Cemetery at 12:30pm and closed with a ceremony from 14:00pm to

16:00pm. It was a very sad day and a lot of people attended the ceremony.

September 1, 2017

16. This was the day I had to go back to the Netherlands since my university was starting on 4

September. After spending almost all of the summer with Farhad, I went back home to the

Netherlands twice during this entire time to pick up things I needed, it was very hard for me

to go back to school and have my full focus for my studies. I started school and passed the

first semester with a lot of difficulties. At the moment I am on my final semester, hoping to

receive my architecture degree within 3 weeks.

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17. I had to come to England because Farhad was receiving a 'Big Hero Award' on October 17

where his story would be told by Best magazine. I stayed until 21 October since I had

holidays. This was a little comfort to Farhad that he received after a very long time and it

seemed to go the right way.

December 13, 2017

18. Farhad received disturbing news about a bone they found in his father jacket while washing

it. Therefore he apologised to me that he would not be able to come to me in the Netherlands

like he planned for Christmas. Instead I had to go to London to attend a second funeral for

his father, which took place due to this discovery of the bone.

December 21, 2017

19. I flew to England at midnight so I could attend the funeral on 22 December at 8:00am. I

spent the New Year in London as well until 3 January 2018. This was my last trip to

London.

In General - How His Father's Loss Affected Me

20. The loss of Farhad's father has been very tragic, not just for Farhad and his mum, but for

everyone. I had to leave everything behind in the Netherlands, including my jobs and

family. I was alone during the whole tragedy. It was a mental rollercoaster, because I

wasn't able to help even though I wanted to. The only thing I managed to do was be by

Farhad's side at all times during the loss. Farhad didn't just lose his dad, he lost his home

and belongings. We had wedding plans for the summer of 2018. Fahad came to the

Netherlands in April 2017 together with his parents to look at wedding halls since we

decided to do the wedding in my country. His dad was very happy and excited to plan the

wedding, like all of us. After the loss of his father, we put all the wedding plans on hold.

The loss made all the future plans we had change. Just when they were about to come to the

Netherlands to continue the wedding plans after half a year, in December. We got another

piece of disturbing news about the piece of bone they found belonging to his dad. That was

when Farhad's tickets for the Netherlands expired and he was held back because of another

tragedy, instead of his trip he planned to me. Instead I had to come for a second part of the

ceremony to England in December. For cultural reasons they had to re-dig the grave and

make a place to put the piece of bone together with the rest of his body, so his soul couldNasrin SADAT Page 6

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rest peacefully. After this second part of the funeral all the wedding plans were vanished.

Nothing has been confirmed or planned since. Out of respect I do not mention the wedding

plans to Farhad nor his mum. I will wait for the right time when both Farhad and his mum

are ready.

21. Saber Neda will be missed no matter how long we postpone the wedding. He will always be

in our thoughts.

Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I confirm that I am willing that

the statement forms part of the evidence before the Inquiry, and may be published on the

Inquiry's website, save for redactions indicated in the text, and those applied by the Inquiry.

Signed:

Nasrin Sadat, fiancée of Farhad Neda, Saber Neda's son

Dated: 21 May 2018

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