Child survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster spoke of their pain and feelings of guilt ahead of a final report into the deadly blaze seven years ago.
Eighteen children were among 72 people who perished in the high-rise block of flats in North Kensington, west London.
More than 1,000 youngsters scarred by traumatic loss, anxiety and PTSD have been treated for mental health issues since June 14, 2017, according to the NHS Health and Wellbeing Hub, which was set up in the wake of the disaster.
Luana Gomes - who was 12 at the time - managed to escape the 21st floor with her pregnant mother and sister, but they were in a coma for weeks.
Her baby brother Logan was stillborn, the youngest victim.
Ms Gomes lost neighbour and friend Mehdi El-Wahabi, eight, who died along with his sister, brother and parents.
Now 19, she told Sky News: “I feel a bit guilty.
“When you think about your friends and family members and neighbours - I feel guilty that I’m here living and doing all this stuff, and they didn't get the chance to live and do the stuff they wanted to at such a young age.”
Abem Abraham, then four, escaped after being taken down the smoke-filled stairs by his parents, but five-year-old best friend Isaac Paulos died.
Abem said he wants the child victims to be remembered for their “bright dreams”, adding: “One of them wanted to be a footballer, wanted to be an engineer, wanted to be an architect. All gone in one flame.
“It could have been me.”
In a message to politicians and developers, the now 12-year-old said: “They need to remove the cladding off of every UK building because that cladding is deadly.
“When it comes to fire, it can destroy houses within minutes, within hours, like it did to Grenfell. Everyone, please, please remove it.”
The phase one report in October 2019 concluded Grenfell’s cladding did not comply with building regulations and was the “principal” reason for the rapid and “profoundly shocking” spread.
Chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick and his two panel members scrutinised the actions of corporate firms in the construction industry, the local authority, London Fire Brigade and the government.
Sandra Ruiz, whose 12-year-old niece Jessica Urbano Ramirez died in the fire, said this final publication must be a “landmark report”, which prompts “cultural, institutional and legislative change”.
Former tower resident and Grenfell United member Edward Daffarn said he hopes it will “highlight the institutionalised indifference that saw private companies put profit before people”.
More widely, he said he wants the report to see the actions of the government and private companies “fully exposed”.
Yousra Cherbika, who was 12, is outraged by the way children and young people were treated after Grenfell.
She said: “They’re not just numbers. They’re not just ‘part of 72’.”
“They have names, we love them. They had stories to tell. They had full lives which were cut short.”
