Mohammed, ISM Rafah
16th March, 2004
When she died, my friend Rachel Corrie left us
grieving in immense
pain. Now it is a year since she was killed and we
still miss her
deeply. I still remember her lovely spirit, strong
personality and
laughter as if she was still around. In Rafah, every
shop, street,
and devastated refugee camp has a living memory of her
kind smile and
gentle voice. Rachel was very compassionate,
intelligent, patient
and calm. She was genuinely concerned about the
world's problems
everywhere, including Palestine and Iraq. My memory is
still able to
recall the image of her participating in the
demonstration against
the war on Iraq. On that day in February 2003, Rachel
showed strong
opposition to the build up to the then inevitable war
and was deeply
regretful about its illegality. She knew as any
sensible person on
this earth, that such a war was going to engulf the
dreams of the
Iraqi children, steal the resources of their homeland,
and force away
their humanity and right to live a peaceful existence,
leaving them
in the coma of the bleak prison that is occupation.
Rachel was a very warm and extremely serene person. I
am cheeky by
nature and like to play tricks on my friends, but
never managed to
wind her up. I used to impersonate her voice
sometimes, even during
serious situations, but always found her taking it
easy, smiling, and
saying in her calm, slow voice "Why are you
impersonating me,
Mohammed?" I also remember the day when Rachel was
waiting for one
of her Palestinian friends to come and visit her in
the ISM Rafah
office. She asked us if we could find her some clean
clothes to wear
and we found her a small green sweater that was too
small and didn't
fit at all. We all laughed at her, and I thought that
she would get
frustrated, but was surprised to find her dealing with
the situation
by being incredibly humble.
The image of Rachel's face shining in the morning sun
on March 16th
is carved into my memory. Rachel was not as she
usually used to be.
She was spaced out and sitting alone smoking in the
reception room of
the ISM office. I noticed her and read her eyes and
facial
expressions and realised she was concerned about
something. I
imagine that she was contemplating the peoples'
suffering and that
she herself did not know how to bring about its end. I
tried to
invade the silence around her in an attempt to bring
her back to her
cheerful mood. She was about to smoke the last
cigarette in her
packet when I asked her to give me the cigarette to
smoke and I was
shocked when she shouted in my face saying, "This is
my last
cigarette, and you knew that I want to smoke it. Go
and get
cigarettes for yourself!" I felt embarrassed, but
quickly she smiled
like an angel and kindly suggested that we share it.
This was usual
of her, and those who knew her personally will say
instantly that she
was incredibly gentle, considerate and receptive to
others.
Rachel's death in Rafah at the hand of the illegal and
brutal Israeli
occupation was not just an incident for the people in
the Holy Land
who have suffered this occupation for the past fifty
years with tears
and pain. Her death meant an incredible amount to me
personally and
to every Palestinian who knew her, as well as those
who did not know
her. It was a terrible shock to everyone in Rafah,
where no one
could believe that a young American woman would be
targeted and
crushed to death in front of international
eyewitnesses in daylight
by an American made D-9 Caterpillar bulldozer used by
the Israeli
occupation army to destroy Palestinian civilian homes.
We were all
shocked and were not able to cope with what happened.
Not a single
Palestinian ever imagined that the Israeli occupation
forces, who
kill our sons, brothers and friends, bulldoze our
olive groves and
destroy our homes with the breaking of every new day,
would
intentionally kill in cold blood a citizen of a
government like the
US, which is blindly supportive of Israel. We had
wished for Rachel -
and every other international peace activist who came
to Rafah - to
go back safely and meet again with their family to
enjoy the peace
that we are not allowed. Whatever words we may express
can't re-pay
the precious sacrifice Rachel offered.
I think the presence of the International Solidarity
Movement in my
town Rafah, was the most appropriate step to be taken
by these
insightful and caring people. It was a step in the
right direction
towards finding peace and justice in Palestine. Before
I met the ISM
team in Rafah last year, I used to think about our
suffering as
Palestinians, abandoned to face the torture while the
world watched
in silence. I used to feel that not only the
occupation has to be
held responsible but the whole world. However, after I
met brave
people like Rachel and Tom Hurndall, I realised that
there is still
hope in this life and there are people trying to do
something - at
least there are ears listening to our cries. We
believe that the
internationals that took the initiative to volunteer
in the occupied
territories have done many good things not only in
terms of tangible
achievements, but also by increasing our faith in
non-violent
resistance. They made a meaningful impact in our minds
and hearts.
We appreciate their sacrifices and feel amazed by the
fact that they
left their beautiful lives, friends and families and
travelled all
the way to Palestine to defend real human values and
to work
peacefully alongside us to bring justice and an end to
the
occupation. The international presence must continue
in Palestine
and people who care about justice must not give up the
fight,
whatever the difficulties and always remember that the
occupation was
established illegally and will not last forever.
Rachel's presence in Rafah allowed her to witness how
horrific, ugly
and brutal the Israeli occupation is. When she
arrived, she saw with
her own eyes the reality that millions of people in
her country are
kept ignorant of. She saw how Palestinian children and
innocent
civilians are shot every day, how their homes are
demolished by the
occupation bulldozers along the border line, how they
sleep their
nights to wake up the following morning bidding
farewell to their
dreams and hopes of living out their lives as others
do.
Unfortunately, the first anniversary of Rachel's death
has come and
still the destruction of Palestinian families' homes
is continuing
and Israeli army invasions are still happening. 1700
homes have been
erased from the face of the earth by the Israeli army
military
bulldozers, including those belonging to the Abu
Jameel and Al-Shaer
families, with whom Rachel and Tom stayed. The
situation in the Gaza
Strip in general, and Rafah in particular, became very
complicated
ever since the Israeli authorities made it extremely
difficult (if
not actually impossible) for all international human
rights
observers, NGO employees and even journalists to gain
access through
the Erez checkpoint. This is the only way for
internationals to get
to the giant prison that is the Gaza Strip. Sharon's
government is
forcing internationals to sign a waiver at that
checkpoint which
amounts to signing your death certificate in advance.
The reason is
simple, to scare people and keep them far away from
the truth,
allowing the IOF troops to perform their crimes in
darkness without
being observed and causing outrage the world over. We,
the
Palestinian people can't get our voice heard in the
rest of the
world, so it is vital for international witnesses to
carry our
message.
It is so depressing to think of the way Rachel's
murder was dealt
with by the American authorities, compared to the
British handling of
the Tom Hurndall case. We believe that there has been
inaccurate
coverage by the American media that is controlled by
the Zionist
lobby. If I am to blame someone, I will hold the
American media
responsible for perpetrating ridiculous and false
claims about
Rachel's personality and the truth about how she died.
Also, there
is a lack of responsible individuals in the US
government. I find
this very disturbing; as do those who knew Rachel and
the honourable
cause she died for. It is saddening to know that the
Israeli
government has permanently closed the investigations
into Rachel's
case. As a Palestinian, I found it shocking to find
such a negative
reaction from the US government over the killing of
one of its
citizens. I had thought the US would take action, at
least on a
political level, by asking Israel to respect and put a
value on human
life and cease the targeting of innocent Palestinians
and
internationals. Unfortunately, nothing has happened
and the US
government has remained silent and avoided denouncing
the Israeli
army's crime. There must be an independent
investigation into
Rachel's death to prove how she was killed. We owe at
least this to
the memory of this courageous young woman for risking
her life to
give life to others, to bring criminals to justice and
for raising
awareness around the world about the terrible reality
of the Israeli
occupation, with atrocities committed against the
Palestinian people
on a daily basis and ethnic cleansing policies in
force.
Rachel's death had a very clear meaning for me. She
was an American
witness to her own government's hostile policy
regarding the
Palestinian cause. It was a distinct message from
Sharon's
government to the international community that they
simply don't
care. They didn't want her to return home and for her
voice to
awaken people in the land of slumber. It was a warning
to brave
people to stop coming to Palestine, to stop witnessing
the
oppression, to stop observing and documenting the so-
called "civilised" behaviour of the fourth strongest
army in the
world. It was a message to the Palestinians to stop
seeking help
from their friends around the world, and to stop
Palestinian people
from daring to continue an effective form of struggle
using non-
violent resistance. This occupation knows that, in the
end, it will
be condemned for turning its lethal military power
against unarmed
people.
When Rachel's parents visited Rafah they gave us
further inspiration
and raised our spirits. We never imagined how strong
they would be
in coping with the situation, seeing the place where
their daughter
lived her last days and where she was killed. Meeting
them made a
huge impression on me, especially Rachel's mother who
reminded me so
much of Rachel I felt I wanted to call her Rachel all
the time. The
Corries' visit to Rafah also meant a lot to the
Palestinian families
along the border with whom Rachel stayed. Those
families felt that
they were not alone even if the army may have killed
their relatives,
destroyed their homes and crushed their friend Rachel
to death.
On the first anniversary of Rachel's death, I would
like to say to
her:
Your body has passed away, but your dear memory flows
in our veins.
Your friends and the people who loved you will
remember you forever
with love and as an inspiration - even if they
bulldoze all the
Palestinian homes along the border, your innocent
spirit will live
on. We are all proud of you and what you did. You
remain a beacon of
light and hope illuminating an age of darkness. You
remain alive in
the heart of every Palestinian, and your blood, which
mixed with our
soil, remains a symbol opposing injustice and
oppression. Rachel,
you were an American citizen with Palestinian blood.