It has become traditional to remember today Rachel Corrie, a 23 year old American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, who was crushed to death on this day by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, while undertaking non violent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition.
She was a member of the International Solidarity Movement. An organisation that exists to help with non-violent protests against the Israeli occupation. It seeks to pressure the Israelis and the Israel Defence force into ending its occupation of Palestinian land, using a number of non-violent tactics, such as violating Israeli curfews imposed on Palestinian areas, removing roadblocks and blocking military tanks and bulldozers.
Rachel Corrie went to Rafah in the Gaza Strip in January 2003 and was horrified at the destruction she found. She saw daily homes being destroyed and people being detained on a daily basis. She recorded all she saw in letters and emails that she sent home to her family. She once wrote " the sheer kindness of the people here, coupled with the overwhelming evidence of the willful destruction of their lives,makes it seem unreal to me."
Sadly this reality combined with her courage cost her, her life. She was run over twice by a Caterpiller Bulldozer and killed. Her memory lives on, and because of her actions, she helps inspire many people around the globe, who search for freedom and justice for the Palestinian people. Her memory kept alive by her deeds and her words that she left behind.
Here is a link to the Rachel Corrie foundation set up to remember her
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/
and here is a link to the International Solidarity Movement
http://palsolidarity.org/
Rachel Corrie - American Hero!
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