Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman: Vigils held for murdered sisters
Hundreds gathered at the park in Wembley last night.
Vigils have been held for Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry - sisters who were murdered in Fryent Country Park in Wembley on June 7 2020.
Reclaim These Streets worked with the women's mum, Mina Smallman, to remember their lives, just over a year on from their deaths.
Attendees lit candles for "all the women who are threatened on our streets."
Speakers at the event include Dawn Butler MP, Mandu Reid, Steve Selley - a retired police officer who led the search for the girls, Bishop Rose - who will led the minute of silence, family members and friends, Ludo Orlando from Reclaim These Streets and Ms Smallman.
Vigils happened simultaneously elsewhere including Hackney and Walthamstow, and people who could not attend in person were encouraged to light a candle on their doorstep and join from wherever they were for the moment’s silence.
Ludo Orlando, one of the organisers of Reclaim These Streets, said:
“The outpouring we have received in response to this event, and the number of women attending the vigil tonight, confirms something we hoped in our hearts to be true: that women want to know the stories of the women who don’t make it to the front pages, and that there should be the same outcry for them.
“Gathering tonight sent a powerful message - we are shining a light on violence against women and we are coming together to speak out against how our laws, and the way they are enforced, fail to protect women, and especially women of colour.
“Working with Mina Smallman to organise this event has been one of the greatest privileges of my life and we hope that this vigil, and our work at Reclaim These Streets going forward, can do Mina and her daughters proud.”
Cllr Shama Tatler, local councillor for Fryent Ward, said:
“Our local community in Brent, and especially women and our communities of colour, were shaken by the murders of Bibaa and Nicole last year in Fryent Park. This vigil was a way for us to come together to grieve, to stand up against violence against women, and reclaim our local park as a space where women can be and feel safe."