Rachel Corrie
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Rachel Corrie (1979 - March 16, 2003), an American on leave from her senior year at Evergreen State College, was a member of the pacifist International Solidarity Movement (ISM) protesting Israeli action in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. She was killed after she positioned herself in front of an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bulldozer which was on a "routine IDF demolition operation" [1] of houses in the Hi Salaam district of Rafah, Gaza.
She was the first foreign protester to be killed while acting as a human shield within the region during the past 29 months. IDF troops had used tear gas to disperse the ISM protestors roughly an hour before this incident. Corrie was wearing a bright jacket and had a bullhorn, and stood between a bulldozer and a house that the bulldozer was targeting for demolition.
There are varying accounts of the exact circumstances immediately before Corrie's death. Some reports have Corrie climbing onto the bulldozer blade itself, some accounts have her standing atop the pile of dirt that was being pushed by the bulldozer, other accounts have the bulldozer dumping rubble onto her. Alternate reports have Corrie sitting or kneeling in front of the bulldozer, which is a tactic ISM had used in the past.
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." + There are varying accounts of the exact circumstances immediately before Corrie's death. Some reports have Corrie climbing onto the bulldozer blade itself, while other accounts have her standing atop the pile of dirt that was being pushed by the bulldozer. Alternate reports have Corrie sitting or kneeling in front of the bulldozer, which is a tactic ISM had used in the past.
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."
A news report on CNN.Com notes these versions of the incident, but also notes that "Other witnesses, however, reported that Corrie had scaled a pile of dirt but then lost her footing and fell backward behind it, out of sight of the bulldozer operator. The bulldozer continued moving forward, covering Corrie with dirt and then crushing her." [2]
Fellow ISM activist, Richard Purssell, reported ""There's no way he didn't see her, since she was practically looking into the cabin. At one stage, he turned around toward the building. The bulldozer kept moving, and she slipped and fell off the plow. But the bulldozer kept moving, the shovel above her. I guess it was about 10 or 15 meters that it dragged her and for some reason didn't stop."
Another ISM activist, Joseph Smith, reported that "We developed this technique; it was successful because they didn't want to drive over us. Rachel sat down in front of them like we had done all day, but this time the bulldozer didn't stop."
Eyewitness accounts differ on the matter of whether the operator of the bulldozer knew that she was in its path. According to witnesses the IDF did not offer any medical aid to Corrie. She was brought to the A-Najar Hospital in Rafah by a Red Crescent ambulance, where she was declared "dead on arrival" at ~17:20.
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..."
The Israeli army called the incident a "regrettable accident," but said Corey and other protesters had been acting irresponsibly by "intentionally placing themselves in a combat zone." [3] Capt. Jacob Dallal, an IDF spokesman, said "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."
Aftermath
The day after Israeli troops fired tear gas at roughly 300 activists from the International Solidarity Movement and other pro-Palestinian organizations who were honoring Corrie with a vigil in Gaza.
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
- Electronic Intifada Coverage
- 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)
- Israeli Army Bulldozer Kills U.S. Woman
- Yahoo/AP photos of Corrie, friends and related events
- A Palestinian ceremony honoring Corrie AP photo