Rachel Corrie
Rachel Corrie (1979 - March 16, 2003), an American on leave from her senior year at Evergreen State College, was a member of the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) protesting Israeli action in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. She was killed by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bulldozer in the Hi Salaam district of Rafah, Gaza while acting as a human shield. She was the first foreign protester to be killed in action within the region during the past 29 months. Later, as a group of people gathered in the vicinity, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by the IDF.
IDF troops had used tear gas to disperse the ISM protestors roughly an hour before this incident. According to the ISM, Corrie posed no threat to anyone. According to the ISM: "When the bulldozer refused to stop or turn aside she climbed up onto the mound of dirt and rubble, wearing a fluorescent jacket. The bulldozer continued to advance so that she was pulled under the pile of dirt and rubble. After she had disappeared from view the driver kept advancing until the bulldozer was completely on top of her. The driver did not lift the bulldozer blade and so she was crushed beneath it. Then the driver backed up - effectively running over her again."
In another release the ISM stated, "At around 5pm the army bulldozers moved towards this house. She stood on top of a mound of earth, wearing a bright orange jacket and waved to the bulldozer driver, shouting at him to stop. He didn’t. The group report that the driver tipped sand over her, at which point she fell down. He then drove the machine over her while the rest of the group screamed at him to stop. After crushing her body with the forward motion of the vehicle, he then reversed. During this time the group heard her scream. With Rachel crying ‘My back is broken’, the other internationals waited at the scene for an ambulance to arrive. The owner of the house in question attempted to give Rachel first aid, but said that her skull was too damaged for it to be effective." At ~1720, Corrie was declared "dead on arrival" at Rafah's A-Najar Hospital.
The death of Corrie was foreshadowed by an event which she wrote of in a February 14th email:
- "[We] stood in the path of the bulldozer and were physically pushed with the shovel backwards, taking shelter in a house... the bulldozer then proceeded on its course, demolishing one side of the house with [us] inside..."
Capt. Jacob Dallal, an IDF spokesman, said "This is a regrettable accident. We are dealing with a group of protesters who were acting very irresponsibly - putting everyone in danger."
In an official press release, the ISM stated "An activist for justice and for peace, Rachel joins the list of history's martyrs, who through non-violent protest have been struck down by the forces of oppression and military power that we will continue to struggle against until Palestine is free."
Quotes by Rachel Corrie
- "I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls and the towers of an occupying army surveying them constantly from the near horizons."
External Links
- Haaretz English News Coverage
- AP Photo of Corrie burning mock US flag
- Photographs of Rachel Corrie - International Solidarity Movement
- UK Guardian article (including email despatches from Rachel Corrie)