A continuing series by guest author Dr. Dahlia Wasfi
Israel Defense Forces armored bulldozer. Image used under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
I searched the Internet for everything that I could find out about Rachel Corrie—who she was, where she came from, what brought her to challenge bulldozers in Gaza.
(And I wondered, my God, what kind of courage does that take? I couldn’t even muster the strength to stand up to bigoted doctors in my workplace.)
I found a picture of her. She was so beautiful: all-American-looking, blonde, blue-eyed young woman. She was thin and beautiful, like a dancer. She even looked natural and confident in the standard over-the-shoulder shot which every high school portrait photographer makes you pose. Most of us look awkward. Rachel’s picture looked elegant.
The outlines of most human beings are dwarfed by the hulking form of a D-9 Caterpillar bulldozer, armored and used by the Israeli army for the destruction of land and homes[1]. Rachel’s frame, in particular, appeared so delicate in the pictures I could find.
She was someone who would never experience racial discrimination based on her looks, the way I felt that I had.
What was she doing in Palestine? Like everything I else I looked at, none of this made any sense whatsoever. This tragedy must be some horrible, horrible mistake.
In the midst of my indignation, I suddenly was struck by self-loathing at what I then perceived to be more internal hypocrisy. Why was I so moved by Rachel Corrie’s death?
Why were you so moved by Rachel’s death? Because when you researched into her life, you found something that you could touch, hold onto almost. Rachel was you, me and all of those who speak from their hearts about the bond they share with human beings everywhere, with so much pride.
If we ever find ourselves questioning why we do what we do, watch this video. Rachel at such a young age spoke with such conviction and if we can ever match her strength, maybe we too can say that we are doing something right.
Thank you, San’aa. “They are us. We are them.”
Thank you so much, San’aa for sharing the link to this great video. It is less than a minute long yet can touch one’s heart deeply. It is well worth investing a minute to listen and be moved.
I recommend reading Rachel Corrie’s journal. One thing that comes across here is that Rachel’s mother was a very principled, strong person. Rachel was inspired by her mother. But I don’t know anything about her mother other than the few glimpses I got from the journal, which are very elliptical and just passing references.
Corrie’s journal is also wonderful just for some of her stories about her life which she wrote as quasi-short stories (as if they could be published). Her story of her relationship with her bee-keeper boyfriend, and how he was quirky and an individualist, is one of the short pieces of writing that has stayed with me.
see:
http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Let-Me-Stand-Alone-The-Journals-of-Rachel-Corrie
(as an aside, my mother, a peace activist, gave me Corrie’s book as a Christmas present a few years ago)
Thanks so much for the recommendation and the link, Cathy.
And thanks for telling us about your peace activist mom.
It gives me a lift every time I hear about a peace activist, especially one who passes her values on to her offspring.