On March 16, 2003, an American student in her final year at Evergreen State College in Washington State died while participating in her own proposed independent-study course.
In what seems as an incident void of astonishing circumstances, it is quite the contrary. Almost seven years ago, 23-year-old Rachel Corrie was crushed to death while acting as a human shield in order to protect her host-family’s house from an Israeli bulldozer in the Palestinian city of Rafah, located in the Gaza Strip.
Last Thursday, in the Israeli city of Haifa, the driver of the bulldozer who struck and killed Rachel Corrie testified for the first time since the incident in a civil lawsuit filed by the Corrie family against the state of Israel.
The Corrie’s are suing the Israeli government for a symbolic amount of one dollar in damages, as well the trial costs, and traveling expenses for themselves and witnesses.
The purpose of this article is not to dispute or prove anything regarding Rachel’s death. From eyewitness testimony, Rachel’s own diary entries, to the actual photos of her crushed body, aspects involving the incident can easily be found through a Google search, which I will leave to the reader to explore.
As a fellow “Washingtonian,” and student whose focus is Middle Eastern studies, I wanted to take the opportunity to inform the Cal State Long Beach community regarding how Rachel’s parents have spent the last seven years trying to put on public record the events that led to their daughter’s death.
In order to understand who Rachel was as a person, as well as her views of social justice and activism, the importance of her university’s academic philosophy cannot be underestimated.
Evergreen State College is a small but well-respected liberal arts college known for its experimental curriculum and its left-wing orientation. A distrust of authority and a passion for unpopular causes permeate the politics of both students and faculty.
In her final year of studies, Rachel proposed an independent-study program in which she would travel to Gaza and join the International Solidarity Movement team in the Gaza Strip and initiate a “sister-city” project between the capital of Washington State, Olympia, and the Palestinian city of Rafah.
Some supporters of Israel argue that thousands of foreign activists like Corrie recklessly choose to risk their lives in a conflict zone where they could be harmed by soldiers who themselves often feel under assault.
This described anxiety seems valid and logical, but I question whether the fallout of this incident would have been different had her death occurred in a different Middle Eastern country. The reaction to Rachel’s death in the U.S. reflected a deep divide over the Israeli-Palestinian situation. The Corrie’s were not provided with a congressional hearing after their local congressman had called for one.
There was a distinct lack of sympathy to Rachel’s death. American-preoccupation with the impending war in Iraq combined with the perception that Rachel was in league with Palestinian militants dampened any sense of outrage.
Last Thursday, the driver of the bulldozer that killed Rachel testified under extraordinary protective measures that continue to underscore the overall lack of transparency in the investigation as well as the trail process.
Sitting comfortably behind a makeshift partition, the driver claimed throughout the testimony that he simply “did not remember,” when asked about the events that occurred on that day.
The Corrie’s sat just 15 feet away from the man who killed their daughter and they couldn’t even look into his eyes. Following the driver’s statement, Rachel’s mother Cindy stated, “It was very difficult not to hear or detect anything in the witness’s words or voice that suggested remorse. Sadly, what I heard from the other side of the screen was indifference.”
This lack of sympathy and interest in regards to Rachel’s death has stretched across two nations for almost seven years. In reality, the Corrie’s have no chance in witnessing justice, but even knowingly they will continue to fight, just as their daughter did.
Hanif Zarrabi is a history graduate student and columnist for the Daily 49er
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for Postings made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for Postings made on this website. Persons commenting agree to the Terms of Use of the website. If Postings do not abide by the Rules of Conduct or Posting Regulations as listed in the Postings Policy, the Daily 49er has all rights to delete Postings as it deems necessary. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech. This site also encourages users to make Postings relevant to the article or other Postings.
