Rachel Corrie
Comments
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Israel, we will not forget Rachel Corrie. No longer will we look the other way. No more may you use American money to kill children, American money to kill Americans, American money to crush young women to death, American money to kill peace.
No more.
http://ifamericansknew.org/cur_sit/corrie.html0 -
Let me know if you have any ideas about what I should do with the rest of my life. I love you very much.
-part of Rachel's last ever email home to her Dad.0 -
Anyway, I'm rambling. Just want to write to my Mom and tell her that I'm witnessing this chronic, insidious genocide and I'm really scared, and questioning my fundamental belief in the goodness of human nature. This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don't think it's an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my coworkers. But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror is what I feel. Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our world and that we, in fact, participate in it. This is not at all what I asked for when I came into this world. This is not at all what the people here asked for when they came into this world. This is not the world you and Dad wanted me to come into when you decided to have me. This is not what I meant when I looked at Capital Lake and said: "This is the wide world and I'm coming to it." I did not mean that I was coming into a world where I could live a comfortable life and possibly, with no effort at all, exist in complete unawareness of my participation in genocide.
-Rachel Corrie0 -
Powerful stuff....wow, I'm amazed at the soul this angel HAS. May GOD bless her soul for eternity. I hope to one day run into her soul.........if I EVER get to heaven. Man if anyone ever deserved to see pearl jam in Palestine or Israel, it wouldve been Rachel. I hope to god that girls soul is resting in peace cuz she didn't live a peaceful life on this shitty planet of ours...0
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The vast majority of people here - even if they had the economic means to escape, even if they actually wanted to give up resisting on their land and just leave (which appears to be maybe the less nefarious of Sharon's possible goals), can't leave. Because they can't even get into Israel to apply for visas, and because their destination countries won't let them in (both our country and Arab countries). So I think when all means of survival is cut off in a pen (Gaza) which people can't get out of, I think that qualifies as genocide.
-Rachel Corrie (2003)
7 years later, this is still happening.0 -
"I feel like I'm witnessing the systematic destruction of a people's ability to survive. It's horrifying..."
-Rachel 20030 -
When I am with Palestinian friends I tend to be somewhat less horrified than when I am trying to act in a role of human rights observer, documenter, or direct-action resister. They are a good example of how to be in it for the long haul. I know that the situation gets to them - and may ultimately get them - on all kinds of levels, but I am nevertheless amazed at their strength in being able to defend such a large degree of their humanity - laughter, generosity, family-time - against the incredible horror occurring in their lives and against the constant presence of death. I felt much better after this morning. I spent a lot of time writing about the disappointment of discovering, somewhat first-hand, the degree of evil of which we are still capable. I should at least mention that I am also discovering a degree of strength and of basic ability for humans to remain human in the direst of circumstances - which I also haven't seen before. I think the word is dignity. I wish you could meet these people. Maybe, hopefully, someday you will.
-Rachel Corrie 20030 -
I probably will have nightmares and constantly feel guilty for not being here, but I can channel that into more work.
-Rachel
that's right, we can.0 -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/fe ... h-law-case
Rachel Corrie's family bring civil suit over human shield's death in Gaza
Parents want case to highlight events that led to American activist's death under Israeli army bulldozer
Rory McCarthy - guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 February 2010
The family of the American activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago, is to bring a civil suit over her death against the Israeli defence ministry.
The case, which begins on 10 March in Haifa, northern Israel, is seen by her parents as an opportunity to put on public record the events that led to their daughter's death in March 2003. Four key witnesses – three Britons and an American – who were at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed will give evidence, according the family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein.
The four were all with the International Solidarity Movement, the activist group to which Corrie belonged. They have since been denied entry to Israel, and the group's offices in Ramallah have been raided several times in recent weeks by the Israeli military.
Now, under apparent US pressure, the Israeli government has agreed to allow them entry so they can testify. Corrie's parents, Cindy and Craig, will also fly to Israel for the hearing.
A Palestinian doctor from Gaza, Ahmed Abu Nakira, who treated Corrie after she was injured and later confirmed her death, has not been given permission by the Israeli authorities to leave Gaza to attend.
Abu Hussein, a leading human rights lawyer in Israel, said there was evidence from witnesses that soldiers saw Corrie at the scene, with other activists, well before the incident and could have arrested or removed her from the area before there was any risk of her being killed.
"After her death the military began an investigation but unfortunately, as in most of these cases, it found the activity of the army was legal and there was no intentional killing," he said. "We would like the court to decide her killing was due to wrong-doing or was intentional." If the Israeli state is found responsible, the family will press for damages.
Corrie, who was born in Olympia, Washington, travelled to Gaza to act as a human shield at a moment of intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians. On the day she died, when she was 23, she was dressed in a fluorescent orange vest and was trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home. She was crushed under a military Caterpillar bulldozer and died shortly afterwards.
A month after her death the Israeli military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame and said the driver of the bulldozer had not seen her and did not intentionally run her over. Instead, it accused her and the International Solidarity Movement of behaviour that was "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous."
The army report, obtained by the Guardian in April 2003, said she "was struck as she stood behind a mound of earth that was created by an engineering vehicle operating in the area and she was hidden from the view of the vehicle's operator who continued with his work. Corrie was struck by dirt and a slab of concrete resulting in her death."
Witnesses presented a strikingly different version of events. Tom Dale, a British activist who was 10m away when Corrie was killed, wrote an account of the incident two days later.
He described how she first knelt in the path of an approaching bulldozer and then stood as it reached her. She climbed on a mound of earth and the crowd nearby shouted at the bulldozer to stop. He said the bulldozer pushed her down and drove over her.
"They pushed Rachel, first beneath the scoop, then beneath the blade, then continued till her body was beneath the cockpit," Dale wrote.
"They waited over her for a few seconds, before reversing. They reversed with the blade pressed down, so it scraped over her body a second time. Every second I believed they would stop but they never did."
While she was in the Palestinian territories, Corrie wrote vividly about her experiences. Her diaries were later turned into a play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, which has toured internationally, including to Israel and the West Bank.
Other foreigners killed by Israeli forces
Iain Hook, 54, a British UN official, was shot dead by an Israeli army sniper in Jenin in November 2002. A British inquest found he had been unlawfully killed. The Israeli government paid an undisclosed sum in compensation to Hook's family.
Tom Hurndall, a 22-year-old British photography student, was shot in the head in Rafah, Gaza, in April 2003 while helping to pull Palestinian children to safety. In August 2005 an Israeli soldier was sentenced to eight years for manslaughter.
James Miller, 34, a British cameraman, was shot dead in Gaza in May 2003. He was leaving the home of a Palestinian family in Rafah refugee camp at night, waving a white flag. An inquest in Britain found Miller had been murdered. Last year Israel paid about £1.5m in damages to Miller's family.0 -
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Seeking Accountability, Seeking Justice: Rachel Corrie Seven Years Later
On the seventh anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie – the Olympian woman crushed to death by an Israeli military Caterpillar bulldozer as she stood protecting a Palestinian families home in Gaza – we come together to remember Rachel and to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people who continue to suffer under Israeli occupation.
Join us at The Urban Onion Ballroom on March 16th at 6:30pm.
116 Legion Way SE, Olympia, WA
We will begin the evening with a community potluck, please bring a dish to share and enjoy with others. Beverages, utensils and plates will be provided. The potluck will be followed by an overview of the journey seeking justice for Rachel’s killing over the past seven years and an update on the civil court case that Cindy and Craig Corrie, Rachel’s parents, have filed in Israel seeking accountability for Rachel’s killing. The Corrie’s will be in Israel during this time and we will get an update on the proceedings taking place. We will also hear from our friends at the Rachel Corrie Youth and Cultural Center in Rafah and learn about their activities and remembrance of Rachel on this day. The evening will close with music by Olympia native Afrok and accompanying band.
Please join us!
Download the flyer: Seeking Accountability, Seeking Justice: Rachel Corrie Seven Years Later Flyer (pdf, 1.1 MB)
Contact
Serena Becker, The Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice
Phone: 360.754.3998
Email: <!-- e --><a href="mailto:serena@rachelcorriefoundation.org">serena@rachelcorriefoundation.org</a><!-- e -->
just a heads up for anyone who may wish to attend and is not familiar with the venue, it's just across from Sylvester Park.0 -
could someone please bump this thread close to the 16th for me please as a reminder to anyone that may want to attend the 7th anniversary of the death of Rachel.
thanks.0 -
bump0
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It's the least we can do.She deserves all the recognition she gets.0
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bump0
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... ase-israel
Israeli court to hear civil case over death of Rachel Corrie in Gaza
Parents of American activist killed by Israeli bulldozer seven years ago take fight for justice to Haifa courtroom
Rory McCarthy in Haifa - guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 10 March 2010 12.01 GMT
'A court today began hearing a civil suit brought against the Israeli government over the death of Rachel Corrie, the US activist who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago.
The case, brought before a Haifa court by Corrie's family, challenges the official Israeli version of events in which the military said its troops were not to blame. The family hopes the hearing will be a chance to put on public record the events that led to their daughter's death in March 2003. If the Israeli state is found responsible, the family will press for at least $300,000 (£201,000) in damages.
Before the hearing began, Craig Corrie, Rachel's father, said the family had been on a "seven-year search for justice in Rachel's name".
"I think when the truth comes out about Rachel, the truth will not wound Israel, the truth is the start of making us heal," he said.
Cindy Corrie, Rachel's mother, said the family was still waiting for the credible, transparent investigation Israel first promised into her daughter's death.
"I just want to say to Rachel that our family is here today trying to just do right by her and I hope that she will be very proud of the effort we are making," she said.
The family's lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, will argue that witness evidence shows the soldiers saw Corrie at the scene, with other activists, well before the incident and could have arrested her or removed her from the area before there was any risk of her being killed.
He will argue her death was either due to gross negligence by the Israeli authorities or was intentional.
Four key witnesses – three Britons and an American – who were at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed are to give evidence.
The first witness to give evidence was Richard Purssell, a Briton who was an ISM volunteer along with Corrie. He described how he had gone to Gaza to see the situation for himself and to prevent the Israeli military from demolishing Palestinian houses.
He said the ISM told him it was a strictly non-violent organisation. "Our role was to support Palestinian non-violent resistance."
He briefly described the moment Corrie was killed. "Rachel disappeared inside the earth and the bulldozer continued for 4 metres and then reversed," he told the court.
Corrie, who was born in Olympia, Washington, travelled to Gaza to act as a human shield at a moment of intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians.
On the day she died, when she was just 23, she was dressed in a fluorescent orange vest and was trying to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah. She was crushed under a military Caterpillar D9R bulldozer and died shortly afterwards.
A month after her death the Israeli military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame and said the driver of the bulldozer had not seen her and did not intentionally run her over.
Instead, it accused her and the group she was with, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), of behaviour that was "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous."
The army report, obtained by the Guardian in April 2003, said she "was struck as she stood behind a mound of earth that was created by an engineering vehicle operating in the area and she was hidden from the view of the vehicle's operator who continued with his work. Corrie was struck by dirt and a slab of concrete resulting in her death."
But several witnesses offered a different version of events, saying the driver had seen her but continued anyway, hitting her with the bulldozer blade. She was severely injured and died shortly afterwards in an ambulance.
While Corrie was in the Palestinian territories, she wrote vividly about her experiences. Her diaries were later turned into a play, My Name is Rachel Corrie, which has toured internationally, including in Israel and the West Bank.0 -
Craig and Cindy Corrie(Rachel's parents), in Israel, talking about Rachel's death and pending Court case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhAKivfR5KY0 -
Day one of the Rachel Corrie Family Trial
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... ase-israel
the link also includes a video.
A British witness told a court today about how he had watched an Israeli military bulldozer run over and kill the American activist Rachel Corrie while she was trying to stop Palestinians' homes being demolished in Gaza.
Richard Purssell, who was also a volunteer activist in Rafah at the time, seven years ago, described the "shocking and dramatic event" in an Israeli court in Haifa on the first day of a civil suit brought by Corrie's family against the Israeli state.
Twenty-three-year-old Corrie, from Olympia, Washington, in the US, went to Gaza for peace activism reasons at a time when there was intense conflict between the Israeli military and the Palestinians.
The Corrie family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein, said he would argue that her death was due either to gross negligence by the Israeli military or that it was intended. If the Israeli state were found responsible, the family would press for damages.
Purssell, a Briton, now working as a landscape gardener, said he volunteered with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to witness events in the occupied Palestinian territories for himself. In Rafah he had been hoping to prevent the Israeli military from demolishing Palestinian homes. The organisation was strictly non violent, he said. "Our role was to support Palestinian non-violent resistance."
On the day of her death, 16 March 2003, Corrie was with seven other activists, including Purssell, in Rafah, close to the Israeli-guarded border with Egypt. They saw an Israeli military armoured Caterpillar D9 bulldozer approaching the house of a Palestinian doctor.
Purssell described how the bulldozer approached at a fast walking pace, its blade down and gathering a pile of soil in its path. When the bulldozer was 20 metres from the house Corrie, who like the others was wearing an orange fluorescent jacket, climbed on to the soil in front of it and stood "looking into the cab of the bulldozer".
"The bulldozer continued to move forward," Purssell said. "Rachel turned to come back down the slope. The earth is still moving and as she nears the bottom of the pile something happened which causes her to fall forward. The bulldozer continued to move forward and Rachel disappeared from view under the moving earth."
The bulldozer continued forward four metres as the activists began to run forward and shout at the driver.
"It passed the point where Rachel fell, it stopped and reversed back along the track it first made. Rachel was lying on the earth," Purssell said. "She was still breathing." Corrie was severely injured and died shortly afterwards.
The Israeli military says it bears no responsibility for Corrie's death. A month after her death the military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame; the driver of the bulldozer had not seen her and had not intentionally run her over. It accused Corrie and the ISM of behaviour that was "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous".
Hussein will argue at the Haifa district court that witness evidence shows that the soldiers did see Corrie at the scene, with other activists well before the incident, and that they could have arrested her or removed her from the area before there was any risk of injury.
Before the hearing began, Craig Corrie, Rachel's father, said the family had been on a "seven-year search for justice in Rachel's name". He added: "I think when the truth comes out about Rachel the truth will not wound Israel, the truth is the start of making us heal."
Cindy Corrie, Rachel's mother, said the family was still waiting for the credible, transparent investigation Israel first promised regarding her daughter's death. "I just want to say to Rachel that our family is here today trying to just do right by her and I hope that she will be very proud of the effort we are making," she said. She said the family had met the staff of US vice-president Joe Biden on Tuesday to talk about the case.
Three other witnesses, two more Britons and an American, who were all at the scene in Rafah when Corrie was killed will give evidence at the Israeli court. It is not clear if any Israeli military officials will speak.
The hearing is scheduled to run for at least two weeks.0 -
News for all, NOTHING will happen to Israel. No matter what the outcome will be, Israel will do nothing. Shit for how many decades have they been ignoring the UN? How many inocent people has the GOVERNMENT killed? And still no responsibility taken by her. Look back at what happened to the USS Liberty. Look at how America responded to that fiasco. If you guys dnt know, please go find out about it. I understand the anger and pain this subject brings but I hate to say it, but Nothings gonna come out of this. It's a farse to even have this trial. Guilty as charged, you see it right in front of you. The whole world saw it how many years ago???? Exactly...oh and how ironic, tickets to see pj at MSG go on sale on rachels anniversary...to bad she can't join us all....0
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i want the isreali military and the bulldozer driver to admit guilt. the eyewitnesses say he had to have seen her. she was wearing an orange vest and standing on a raised level of earth. i realize this will not bring her back, but at least it can allow her family and friends to have some sort of closure and begin to heal...badbrains wrote:News for all, NOTHING will happen to Israel. No matter what the outcome will be, Israel will do nothing. Shit for how many decades have they been ignoring the UN? How many inocent people has the GOVERNMENT killed? And still no responsibility taken by her. Look back at what happened to the USS Liberty. Look at how America responded to that fiasco. If you guys dnt know, please go find out about it. I understand the anger and pain this subject brings but I hate to say it, but Nothings gonna come out of this. It's a farse to even have this trial. Guilty as charged, you see it right in front of you. The whole world saw it how many years ago???? Exactly...oh and how ironic, tickets to see pj at MSG go on sale on rachels anniversary...to bad she can't join us all...."You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."0
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