Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, July 2007, pages 56-57

Waging Peace

Rafah Children Honor Rachel Corrie

CHILDREN FROM the Mini Palestinian Parliament in Rafah commemorated the fourth anniversary of the killing of Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM). Corrie, 23, lost her life under an Israeli army bulldozer on March 16, 2003 while attempting to stop the bulldozer from demolishing a home belonging to a Palestinian citizen near the Brazil neighborhood southeast of Rafah city.

The children installed a permanent exhibit to honor her life that included pictures and personal belongings at the parliament site in the center of Rafah governorate. The exhibit includes pictures of Rachel and statements and other documents released upon her loss, some personal belongings, as well as a symbolic coffin covered by the Palestinian flag.

Nadeem Al-Mahaydeh, 11, and Islam Abu Sharkh, 12, read commemorative poems they’d written in English. The two girls spoke about Rachel’s heroic stand in front of an Israeli bulldozer in an attempt to stop the demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah—a stand that cost her life.

The two girls emphasized in their poems that the children of Rafah, in particular, and all children of Palestine will never forget Rachel, who will be in their memories as long as they live. The children then hung placards with slogans commemorating Rachel and wishing she was still with them. Among the signs: “Rachel we will not forget you,” “Rachel we need you,” “Rachel Corrie died as a Palestinian,” and “We welcome her in the highest esteem and honor.” Children placed wreaths and olive branches on her symbolic coffin. They sent their wishes and honor to Rachel’s parents, who live in the U.S. and who joined the children last year for the third anniversary commemorations.

After posting a large picture of Rachel on the wall of the exhibit, Ameer Barakeh, 14, took a few steps to Rachel’s symbolic coffin, and placed some flowers on it. He looked for a long time at her picture and his eyes got misty and tears rolled down his cheeks. “Even though a long time has passed, she is still in my mind,” Barakeh said, “and every day I remember her wide smile when she used to come to this parliament, sit with us, talk to us, and give us gifts of toys and clothes.” He added that he and other young parliamentarians plan to hold commemorations regularly for Rachel Corrie, British ISM volunteer Tom Hurndall, British photographer James Miller and all the members of the solidarity movement who have lost their lives. [Another American ISM volunteer, Brian Avery, was shot in the face in Jenin and survived.]

Abdel Raouf Barbakh, the supervisor for the young parliament, emphasized that the idea for the exhibit came from the children themselves, who brought possessions and gifts Rachel gave them and began collecting the statements. Barbakh invited all civil and other groups to come visit the exhibit.

To read Rachel’s e-mails to her family and friends, visit <http://www.rachelswords.org/>.

[This article was originally published in Arabic by the Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Ayyam on March 16, 2007, and translated by Mazin Qumsiyeh.]

—Mohamad Al Jamal