2024-12-30
38 分钟This is the Guardian.
Hi, it's Helen here.
And over our Christmas break, we are revisiting some of our favourite episodes, particularly the ones that celebrate the people who have inspired us.
And that means that today we are bringing you the story of Mina Smallman, an incredible woman who has courageously pursued justice following the tragic murder of her two daughters, Beaver and Nicole.
Speaking to Mina was a really special experience for me and, and I really hope that her story and her approach to life inspires you too.
Before we start, a quick warning.
This episode contains references to violence, abuse and suicide.
Mina Smallman has been many things in life.
A teenage mother, a mature student, a gifted teacher, a trailblazing church leader.
But standing outside the Old Bailey in London a few years ago with a wall of cameras trained on her, she became an activist.
We know about your dirty linen and it only protects the bad people.
Expose them, deal with them, charge them, get them out of the police force.
In June 2020, Mina's world fell apart.
Her eldest and youngest daughters had been found dead in a London park.
Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.
You know, you go to London to start to prepare the funeral of your dead children and then you're forced to have a meeting to tell you that police officers that should have been protecting the area had actually taken selfies.
Any mother could be forgiven if they retreated away from the public glare to grieve and seethe in private.
But Mina took a different approach.
If you've got a rotten piece of fruit in a fruit bowl, it contaminates everything around it.
So we need to drill down and get the rot out once and for all.