23 year old American Peace activist Rachel Corrie was was crushed to death by an Israeli armoured bulldozer in Rafah, Southern part of the Gaza strip, on March 16th, 2003 while undertaking nonviolent direct action to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition. Justice has never been served for her, along with many others who have been killed due to Israel's occupation. In 2005 Corrie's parents filed a civil lawsuit against the state of Israel. The lawsuit charged Israel with not conducting a full and credible investigation into the case and with responsibility for her death. They sued for a symbolic one U.S dollar in damages to make the point that that the case was about justice for their daughter and the Palestinian cause, she had been defending. In August 2012, an Israeli court rejected their suit.
Her death was a "regrettable accident" for which the state of Israel was not responsible, a judge ruled, dismissing the civil lawsuit brought by the family.
According to Judge Oded Gershon of Haifa Court she had " put herself in a dangerous situation" whilst dressed in a bright orange jacket and acting as a human shield. Israel to all intents and pupose declared itself not guilty of Rachel Corrie's murder. The world I think sees things differently.
The home Rachel Corrie died trying to protect was razed, along with hundreds of others. She was murdered whilst protesting against home demolitions and injustice in Gaza. This court in all effect gave its stamp of approval to the flawed and illegal practices of the Israeli military. This verdict failed to hold the Israeli military accountable for continuing violation of human rights. It was a shocking day for human rights, but a verdict that I am not too surprised about. Again and again Israel acts with impunity, carrying on regardless in an arrogant violent manner. There is no justice when their courts show such contempt, for justice's meaning.
There is no justice too, when the Gaza strip remains a sealed ghetto,there is no justice when countless Palestinian families are made homeless, there houses destroyed, where is the justice for them or their friends after the death of their loved ones.
By disregarding international law and granting Israeli war criminals impunity, the verdict exemplified that Israel's legal system cannot be trusted to administer justice according to international standards.
The fight and struggle will continue, the end result being that we get truthful answers and yes JUSTICE...... the world will not stay silent, and will remember Rachel Corrie, who courageously died whilst living her dreams, staying human, and showing solidarity with her beloved friends, the Palestinians.
This will not be last time we hear her name. The memories of her death will not fade, nor that of the death of thousands of Palestinians.The struggle continues against demolition and occupation of Palestinian homes and lands.Her courage and determination and resistance on behalf of the Palestinian people will never be forgotten. R.I.P Rachel, she will carry on being an inspiration to solidarity activists around the globe, her spirit lives on.
Meet the heroine behind the headlines.The play My name is Rachel Corrie first seen two years after her death, directed by Josh Roche and edited by the late Alan Rickman and Guardian newspaper editor Katharine Viner, gives a troubling account of an extraordinary young woman's overwhelming commitment to her cause, the play darts through the diaries Corrie wrote from the age of 12 upwards. The form makes it potent, nothing if not honest. Diaries, being private, have no reason not to be. They're personal, not political, and whatever anyone makes of her standpoint, there's no denying what Corrie witnessed in Palestine children growing up surrounded by shellfire, farms razed without warning, soldiers shooting at will.
Here is The Guardian's review of the play currently at the Young Vic until the end of October
"Seeing the play a second time, I was struck by Corrie’s solitude and sense of impending death. Yet her journal also records the beleaguered existence of people in the city of Rafah: 602 homes have been bulldozed, many of those that survive have tank holes in the walls, checkpoints prevent people getting to work or registering at university."
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/oct/05/my-name-is-rachel-corrie-review-young-vic
and here is link to Young Vic's web page:
https://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/my-name-is-rachel-corrie
Here are two further links :
http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/
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