22 June 2021

INQUEST are delighted to facilitate a call for participants for a book project, 'Justice for All of Us', organised and led by Marienna Pope-Weidemann. 

Like many grieving relatives, Marienna found her family were pushed into the spotlight when their worst nightmares came true and her cousin died, killed they believe by state neglect. Marienna and her family are going through the inquest process and a campaign #JusticeForGaia that utilises the skills and experiences Marienna already had from a decade of social justice and media work.

See Marienna's personal blog about the project for more background on her work and the project.

Through collaboration with contributors, the book will be written by Marienna, who will work closely with families to collect the stories of those who have died, and bring together the voices of those left behind to fight for justice for all of us. 

Marienna will involve people through a series of interviews over time, this is deliberately a slower more in depth piece of work than usual media portals. It offers an opportunity to go into more detail and also take time to reflect on the difficult experiences, as well as some of the better ones – when pockets of justice emerge.  

The project has three main objectives.  

1. to give contributors what is so often denied by the mainstream media and the system at large: an opportunity to tell our own story, truthfully, completely and in your own words. 
2. to generate positive publicity and raise awareness for other families’ campaigns 
3. to shine a light on the barriers to justice that face bereaved families, especially those from marginalised communities 

If you would like to get involved, we recommend you read the more detailed book project proposal here. To read more about Marienna’s work on the #JusticeForGaia campaign see the Justice for Gaia website, and to see a sample of her writing see her long read article for the Wellcome Trust.  

Marienna is already working with two contributors, one of whom has said: "It's really easy talking with Marienna - she is a great listener. She let's you go at your own pace, makes spaces for breaks when things get emotional and most importantly, she understands my story because she and her family have been through something similar." 

To register your interest in being involved we are asking families to fill out this short form. This is to gather some details from you about why you’d like to be involved, but also to make sure that the selections of chapters represent the diversity of lives impacted by this state violence and neglect.  

We know not everyone who responds will be able to take part, but we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to put themselves forward.  

Project proposal   SIGN UP FORM

INQUEST are also committed to raising the voices of families, and if you would like to speak with our family participation officer about writing something for the INQUEST website you can contact find guidance here.