Lolita Lebron in mural by Susan Greene
Rachel speaking about her experiences (1 MB mp3)
From Freedom Archives audio archives
Photo: Scott Braley

Rachel Corrie

On March 16, 2003 Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old senior at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, was killed by Israeli soldiers in the Rafah Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip. Corrie was run over and over again, when the army bulldozer backed up over her as she tried to prevent soldiers from demolishing a Palestinian home in the camp.

Rachel was in the Gaza Strip as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), among the most prominent of several nonviolent groups that brings international activists, primarily Americans and Europeans, to work as peacekeepers: witnessing Israeli treatment of Palestinians; trying to provide assistance to Palestinian civilians wanting accompaniment as a form of protection against the Israelis; and bringing the stories of what they see back home to their own countries.

Not surprisingly, the circumstances of her death were disputed by the Israeli military and government, which claim that the bulldozers driver was unaware of Corrie. This is flatly denied by ISM volunteers who witnessed Corries death. In their version, Corrie talked with the driver only a few minutes before her death. Pictures from the scene show that she was wearing a fluorescent orange jacket.

Rachel Corrie photo

 

More: The Rachel Corrie Website