“Many people said they couldn’t sleep,” says Annie Gibbs. “I couldn’t sleep. I was constantly worried about this person out there. And just thinking about what the family must be going through. It was horrible.”
The memory of the dark days after the body of Sabina Nessa was found in Cator Park, Greenwich, on 18 September last year still casts a deep shadow over the tight-knit community of Kidbrooke and the wider south-east London borough.
Sabina, 28, was a much-loved primary school teacher at Rushey Green primary school in Catford, Lewisham; she was a valued member of her mosque; and she was loved by a close family. The people that loved her spoke of a happy young woman – kind, dedicated. She was the best of their community, a young woman who had taken a five-minute walk from her house at 8.30pm on 17 September 2021 to meet a friend, and never returned.
“She was a really dedicated teacher, a really happy positive person whose life sadly was just stolen from her,” says Lisa Williams, the headteacher of the school where Nessa worked. “We were all in complete shock. This was somebody that we knew and cared about so much, whose life had just been taken in this tragic and just devastating way.”
But from the ashes of those early grief-stricken days, a deep solidarity has arisen in Kidbrooke and the surrounding area where Nessa lived and worked, according to people who live there.
As the man who killed her pleaded guilty to her murder on Friday, there was a determination that the woman they loved should not simply be remembered as a victim of male violence, but for who she was, says Gibbs, the vice-chair of the Kidbrooke forum community group which helped organise a candlelit vigil for Nessa a week after her death.
“Everyone who knew her said she was so kind, so loving and caring, and you know, she just gave everybody so much love. We want her to be remembered as a bright light, for the sunshine that she brought to so many people’s lives, especially the children and her family.”
In the days that followed her disappearance there was a sense of crippling shock in the community she was such an integral part of, adds Gibbs, the founder of the community interest company Amour Destiné, which supports black women and girls. “There was devastation, but also fear,” she says. “I think the coming together as a community helped with that. We didn’t feel alone. The fact that we had each other really, really helped.”
At Rushey Green primary school, teachers, parents and children came together in grief – and fortitude, says Williams. “We speak a lot about loss in our school, because we’ve had so much of it,” she says. “We’ve tried to give our children a kind of literacy, to talk about emotions or feelings.”
She pauses before adding: “But children shouldn’t have to understand that there is death and there is murder, and they are not the same thing. That’s definitely not something that you ever think that you’re ever going to have to teach your children about in a whole-school assembly.”
At Rushey Green, they have made art exhibitions for the teacher they loved, and as the dark days of winter come to an end, the first shoots are arriving in a more permanent memorial. The school is fundraising to build a memorial garden in the school grounds, and already has a team of volunteers tending the start of an edible garden. “I hope it will give children a really happy, safe space to play, to learn, and that Sabina is remembered for her contributions to our school in a positive way. She had a huge impact on our children here,” says Williams.
Nessa’s death has also galvanised many in the area to join a movement to tackle male violence against women. Stacy Smith, director of the Her Centre, a women’s service and charity in Greenwich, says that there is a greater focus on the problem.
“I think the community wants to see change,” she says. “And the council has been more willing to work with us on how we can both be more proactive in raising awareness and looking at what’s really going to make women safe.”
The charity, as well as Neighbourhood Watch, is running active bystander training to help give men the tools to intervene if they see women being harassed in the streets as well as talking in schools about the impact of domestic violence. The University of Greenwich has launched the Sabina Project, with young women coming together to “use the law to end male violence”, while Nessa’s family have launched a “Sadaqah Jariyah” – a continuous charitable fundraiser – in her name.
The Little Fish theatre in Greenwich has produced a play called To Be Continued, looking at issues of sexism, misogyny and toxic masculinity, which will be performed and workshopped in schools across the borough – with the help of council funding – and London.
“It was absolutely a response to the death of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard, but also to what the teachers we work with were telling us they needed,” says Suha Al-Khayyat, the theatre’s artistic co-director. “These are difficult things to talk about, but by using the theatre and arts we can really engage hard-to-reach groups.”
Denise Scott-McDonald, the deputy leader of Greenwich council, said: “What happened to Sabina is a tragic reminder that tackling violence against all women needs to be at the top of everyone’s agenda.
“Gender-based violence will only end if we confront those perpetrating that violence. This means challenging the social norms that facilitate abuse like someone’s harmful behaviour or language, intervening with those on the cusp of offending and facing down those already causing serious harm.
“We have recognised that we need to do more to tackle violence against women, not just as a council, but as a society in general. We are working closely with and investing in local charities and community groups which focus of supporting women, including the Her Centre.
“Our enforcement teams are working closely with partners including the new dedicated police team for Woolwich town centre. We are running a behaviour-change programme with the perpetrators of domestic abuse, while continuing to invest in support for victims. We have invested £3.7m in digital CCTV cameras.
“Perhaps most importantly, we are also tackling the cultural and societal changes needed to address the root causes of gender-based violence, through specialised education programmes aimed at men and boys in schools and the workplace.”
For Gibbs and the community that pulled together after the death of the young teacher, Sabina’s light will continue to shine in the work, people and places she inspired.
“We understand change takes time, but the need is urgent and it has to happen,” says Gibbs. “We don’t want her life to be forgotten. She wasn’t just someone whose life was taken by an evil person, we should remember the impact her life had, and make sure her legacy lives on. We want Sabina to be a bright light.”
