The conflagration of the Grenfell Tower in West London on 14 June 2017, and its aftermath, exposed the institutional indifference and hierarchical, colonial system of governance within contemporary Britain. Cutting across a range of political inequalities, and exposing the ‘slow violence’ that communities without capital, especially those seeking asylum or undertaking economic migration, are subject to in everyday life, the tower showcased the imposed voicelessness of refugees in plain sight in Britain. Through artistic and grassroots organising, this voicelessness was, to an extent, overcome. Drawing on the theories of Rob Nixon, Ture and Hamilton, Taiwe Afuape, Micheal White and Etienne Balibar, this article explores the tragedy, and its aftermath, focusing in particular on the role of writer-activists Potent Whisper, Lowkey, Jay Bernard and Ben Okri in working with communities to reclaim the agency of representation in solidarity against violence.

2017年6月14日，西伦敦格林菲尔塔（Grenfell Tower）的大火及其后果暴露了当代英国内部的制度冷漠和等级制，殖民地治理体系。这座塔跨越了一系列的政治不平等现象，暴露了没有资本的社区，尤其是那些寻求庇护或进行经济移民的社区在日常生活中所遭受的“缓慢的暴力”，该塔展示了在英国普通难民眼中无声的声音。通过艺术和基层组织，这种无声在一定程度上得以克服。本文借鉴罗伯·尼克松（Rob Nixon），图雷（Ture）和汉密尔顿（Hamilton），泰威·阿富阿佩（Taiwe Afuape），米歇尔·怀特（Micheal White）和艾蒂安·巴里巴尔（Etienne Balibar）的理论，探讨了悲剧及其后果，尤其着重于作家激进主义者Potent Whisper，Lowkey，