How the 7/7 train R
olling back the clock to July 2005, Sajda remembers the day vividly. On a packed
A terrifying experience on the Piccadilly Line train bombing on July 7, 2005, led Sajda Mughal to re-assess her life working in the City of London. As a victim of terrorism, she decided to make a difference to her community and now leads the Jan Trust –a community group that aims to empower the home and through that empower the community.
train just before 9am, seconds out of Kings Cross, there was a massive bang, the lights went out and the train came to a halt. “My initial thoughts were we have derailed and hit a tunnel. We were all in shock. The carriage filled with smoke and we could hear people crying out.” She was filled with fear that the next tube would ram straight into the back of them. “ I thought this is it – we are going to die. July 7, 2005 is my last day on earth. I haven’t been able to say goodbye to my family, loved ones, friends.” Sajda and her fellow passengers were left in darkness, literally choking on smoke, sweating with the heat and staring at each other in shock. Finally, they could hear faintly, “We’re coming to get you – it is the police”.
They were guided along the track back to Kings Cross ”in so much shock, just wanting to get out – into fresh air”. Sajda walked across to a McDonald’s restaurant. “Only at that point I thought to call someone, but I could not get through.” She also tried to call work; quickly realising there was going to be no way to get there, she began to walk back home.
Not really knowing the way, for many hours she just kept walking. Eventually the mobile phone network came back and she got through to my mother. “I thought you were dead. I knew you were on that tube.” Later that day, it emerged it had been a bomb. “I could not believe it – I never thought I would be round a bomb. It was unreal.”
Sajda had time off work and could not travel on the tube system for some time. She will never forget the events of that day, but counselling and time have helped her come to terms with it. She came to the conclusion, “it was not my time – God had not written it.”
As she recovered, she began to assess herself and the question arose, “I nearly died – is this what I want to do with my life?” At the same time, she began noticing two worrying issues in her community. Firstly a distinct rise in Islamaphobia, be it bullying, spitting, physical abuse, graffiti, was happening in her community. Together with this, there were increasing grievances amongst Muslim youth, around foreign policy, unemployment and media coverage. She could see that this toxic combination could lead to something bigger and worse than 7/7. With her own experience
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