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| Fifth Column |
| Washington Post publishes emails of Rachel Corrie |
| 2003-05-22 |
| Partners for Peace helped get some of Rachel Corrie's emails into the Washington Post of Sunday, March 30, 2003. Rachel was killed on March 16 by an Israeli bulldozer. Its driver ran over her despite her visible nonviolent efforts to stop the attempted bulldozing of the home of a Palestinian doctor. WASHINGTON POST Last E-Mails From a Young Activist Sunday, March 30, 2003; Page B03 Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old activist from Olympia, Wash., was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer on March 16 as she tried to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip. In detailed e-mails to her parents, which they provided through the organization for which she was a volunteer, she explained why the work was so important to her. Excerpts: FEB. 7, 2003 I have been in Palestine for two weeks and one hour now, and I still have very few words to describe what I see. It is most difficult for me to think about what's going on here when I sit down to write back to the United States -- something about the virtual portal into luxury. I don't know if many of the children here have ever existed without tank-shell holes in their walls and the towers of an occupying army surveying them constantly from the near horizons. I think, although I'm not entirely sure, that even the smallest of these children understand that life is not like this everywhere. . . . I am just beginning to learn, from what I expect to be a very intense tutelage, about the ability of people to organize against all odds, and to resist against all odds. Rachel FEB. 20 Mama, . . . I am staying put in Rafah for now, no plans to head north. I still feel like I'm relatively safe and think that my most likely risk in case of a larger-scale incursion is arrest. . . . Rachel FEB. 27 Love you. Really miss you. I have bad nightmares about tanks and bulldozers outside our house and you and me inside. Sometimes the adrenaline acts as an anesthetic for weeks -- and then in the evening or at night it just hits me again -- a little bit of the reality of the situation. I am really scared for the people here. . . . The count of homes destroyed in Rafah since the beginning of this intifada is up around six hundred, by and large people with no connection to the resistance but who happen to live along the border. Most of these are refugee homes . . . If any of us had our lives and welfare completely strangled, lived with children in a shrinking place where we knew, because of previous experience, that soldiers and tanks and bulldozers could come for us at any moment -- which would perhaps be a somewhat less cruel death than starvation, chronic malnutrition, and nitrite poisoning (caused from increasing reliance on wells located at a distance from settlements, eastward, where the water quality is poor), with no means of economic survival and our houses destroyed -- if they came and destroyed all the greenhouses that we had been cultivating for however long, and did this while some of us were beaten and held captive with 149 other people for several hours -- do you think we might try to use somewhat violent means to protect the edge of the greenhouses, to protect whatever fragments remained? . . . I think about this especially when I see orchards and greenhouses and fruit trees destroyed -- just years of care and cultivation. I think about you and how long it takes to make things grow and what a labor of love it is. I really think, in a similar situation, most people would defend themselves as best they could. I think Uncle Craig would. I think probably Grandma would. I think I would. . . . I'm having a hard time right now. Just feel sick to my stomach a lot from being doted on all the time, very sweetly, by people who are facing doom. I know that from the United States, it all sounds like hyperbole. Honestly, a lot of the time the sheer kindness of the people here, coupled with the overwhelming evidence of the willful destruction of their lives, makes it seem unreal to me. I really can't believe that something like this can happen in the world without a bigger outcry about it. . . . When I come back from Palestine, I probably will have nightmares and constantly feel guilty for not being here, but I can channel that into more work. Coming here is one of the better things I've ever done. So when I sound crazy, or if the Israeli military should break with their racist tendency not to injure white people, please pin the reason squarely on the fact that I am in the midst of a genocide which I am also indirectly supporting, and for which my government is largely responsible. I love you and Dad . . . Rachel FEB. 28 It really helps me to get word from you, and from other people who care about me. . . . You can always hear the tanks and bulldozers passing by, but all of these people [here] are genuinely cheerful with each other, and with me. . . . They are a good example of how to be in it for the long haul. . . . I wish you could meet these people. Maybe, hopefully, someday you will. I love you. Rachel You know, she doesn't sound full of hate to me. Contrary to what I hear ABOUT her. I guess being a long-term conservative makes you addicted to underdogs. And you learn that usually the more shrill the rhetoric, the more you need to look behind you. |
| Posted by:Scott |
| #21 Corrie was arrogant and stupid - a deadly combination. Stupidity kills, arrogance only ensures it happens sooner, rather than later. The war in Israel has been going on for over 100 years, ever since Jews began returning to the area during the later days of the Ottoman Empire. The first Kubbutz was established in something like 1894, and suffered pogroms until independence in 1948. There is no such thing as a Palestinian people - there are only Arabs who happen to live in what they call Palestine - the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. Read some of the writings of the Mufti of Jerusalem, and you'll see that Israel is under a curse of death. The only safety that Israel has is a strong military, and the ability to marginalize the terrorism within its borders. Frankly, after Hitler, after Stalin, after the Polish and Russian pogroms, and all the anti-Semitism in western Europe, I think the Jews have been too damned nice. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-05-22 20:26:13 |
| #20 "Dear Mom and Dad, I hear bulldozers coming closer. I am going to go out for a second to see what is going on..." ** NO CARRIER ** |
| Posted by: badanov 2003-05-22 18:46:14 |
| #19 She didn't blow herself up but, as a fellow traveler of the Islamoterrorists, can she get honorary martyr-ette status and a chance at 72 virgins? |
| Posted by: Ned 2003-05-22 17:34:14 |
| #18 Favorite Quote: "So when I sound crazy, or if the Israeli military should break with their racist tendency not to injure white people, please pin the reason squarely on the fact that I am in the midst of a genocide which I am also indirectly supporting, and for which my government is largely responsible." Oh, the irony of the phrase "I am in the midst of a genocide which I am also indirectly supporting." And, ColoradoConservative, I believe Klein quoted form another e-mail in her March column, and it has the same myopic, self-centered and pollyanish tone as these letters. If they are fakes, they are spot on since they highlight precisely the psychological qualities of passionate, committed protestors too immature to grant that maybe, just maybe, homicide bombing on Jews is a bad thing. (My sarcasm is not directed towards you.) Second favorite quote: "if the Israeli military should break with their racist tendency not to injure white people. . ." To which I cite, again: "Thirty-two Americans, many with dual citizenship, have been killed by Palestinian suicide bombers, and 50 have been injured, since the second Palestinian uprising began in September 2000. www.guerrillanews.com/human_rights/doc1176.html]" Whew! That was one fucked up little girl. |
| Posted by: FormerLiberal 2003-05-22 15:16:51 |
| #17 If there is a cause for which people feel strong enough to put their life on the line, don't you want them to do it without violence? I think the last thing she expected to do was put her "life on the line". The only person more surprised then her to get run over by a bulldozer was probably the guy driving it. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-22 15:16:44 |
| #16 "racist tendencies not to injure white people." What a perfect example of the leftist tendency to reduce everything to race. Muslims, they want us to believe, are "brown," whereas Jews are "white." Utter rot. Even in the most racist days of America, when non-whites were largely excluded from immigrating to the US, people from the Middle East were allowed in because they were classified as Caucasians. In terms of skin color, Palestinians range from medium brown to quite light. Israeli Jews cover a broader spectrum; some of European backround are quite fair, whereas the Falashas, Jews from Ethiopia, are actually the darkest group around. |
| Posted by: closet neo-con 2003-05-22 15:14:29 |
| #15 As I have said in this space, I believe Israel has God-given, UN mandated and Balfour-declared right to a homeland. My only beef is how they deal with the inhabitants. They HAVE displaced innocent paleos, and use every act of aggression against them as justification to displace more. If you can't see the immorality of it, then how about the stupidity of it. It's costing them (and us) many times more in $ and blood NOT to buy those people out. |
| Posted by: Scott 2003-05-22 15:09:11 |
| #14 Am I the only one skeptical about these e-mails? Have they been verified? Reminds me of Stern and the Hitler Diaries. If these e-mails are legitimate, then they should be entitled "The Last E-Mails of a Misled Activist". Corrie seems oblivious to the history and context of the Mideast and instead the focus is myopic, self-centered and pollyanish. |
| Posted by: ColoradoConservative 2003-05-22 14:56:08 |
| #13 im sorry travelgate has caused you to not believe the Israeli govt, but my friends in Israel are not willing to go on dying cause of that. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-22 14:54:51 |
| #12 Well put, LH. I was about to say the same thing but you beat me to it. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-05-22 14:53:00 |
| #11 If you begin an inquiry with false assumptions you are going to keep getting to false conclusions. RCorrie's assumptions going in were that Israel actually wants to invade Gaza and arbitrarily does so (not her only false assumptions). These are truly bizarre assumptions that can not be made without a bizarre world view or a desire to avoid seeing facts as they are. Notwithstanding this, many, many people have essentially the same mind set. |
| Posted by: mhw 2003-05-22 14:52:21 |
| #10 systematically displacing is incorrect - no area of Pal population has had its population removed during the current intifada. Isreali settlement activity, whether you consider it legal or illegal, is on vacant land. The terrorism started well before any Likud govt, and the current intifada started before the current Likud govt, and in fact was largely responsible for the Likud victory. Non-violent protest would be nice, but this lady was justifying terrorism. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-22 14:50:39 |
| #9 After Vietnam, Watergate, Carter's 'malaise', Iran-contra, Reno's FBI (several instances), Hillary's use of FBI files, Bill's perjury and yes, even Cheney's Halliburton connection, I don't trust half of what comes out of OUR government. So I'm dang sure not gonna take at face value what Israel's Likud gov't says. I believe that Israel is systematically displacing palestinians and THAT is a major cause for palestinian terrorism. Most of those being displaced are not terrorists. I just wish the activists had the courage to do it nonviolently. Seems to me, after all the bombings, nonviolent protest would be encouraged, even welcomed. If there is a cause for which people feel strong enough to put their life on the line, don't you want them to do it without violence? |
| Posted by: Scott 2003-05-22 14:42:38 |
| #8 You're either with us or with the terrorists. Corrie was with the terrorists. Good riddance. |
| Posted by: someone 2003-05-22 14:21:37 |
| #7 "if the Israeli military should break with their racist tendency not to injure white people" Or maybe the israeli military is not racist, and actually conducts its attacks for bona fide security reasons. Maybe the Israeli army has lots of soldiers who are a lot darker than this white girl. Maybe she should have gotten to know something about Israeli society. Maybe she should have considered becoming a human shield in a disco in Tel Aviv. Or maybe she didnt become anti-US because of the side she took in the Israel - Pal dispute. Maybe she took the side she did because she's anti-US? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-22 14:17:58 |
| #6 "Contrary to what I hear ABOUT her. I guess being a long-term conservative makes you addicted to underdogs" I guess being a long term liberal makes me distrust people who justify terrorism because PROPERTY (eg greenhouses,etc have been destroyed) and it makes me sympathetic to people like the IDF who override property rights for a valid public purpose (like depriving terrorists of places to hide) oh, and it also makes me prefer law and reason and to distrust passion in politics - which distinguishes me from a radical like this, as well as from some on the far right (some on the near right would qualify as liberals in this sense - broad classical sense) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-22 14:09:30 |
| #5 Scott, you could take selected comments from me and actually portray me in a false light: as a caring moderate over what happened to Ms. Pancake. She tried to help the Paleos protect an import point for weapons to kill innocent Israelis - She got what she wanted blessed martyrdom and 72 raisins. Compassion for useful idiots is not my style, sorry |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-05-22 14:05:46 |
| #4 I am staying put in Rafah for now, no plans to head north. I still feel like I'm relatively safe and think that my most likely risk in case of a larger-scale incursion is arrest. Stupid. Naive. Dead. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-05-22 14:04:38 |
| #3 "if the Israeli military should break with their racist tendency not to injure white people, please pin the reason squarely on the fact that I am in the midst of a genocide which I am also indirectly supporting, and for which my government is largely responsible. " The only genocide is the policy of terror to murder Jews. Its very sad indeed how the people of Gaza live, and how many have died - but its not due to any Israeli genocide. To blame the victims of terror for genocide is yes, to be filled with hate. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-22 14:03:04 |
| #2 "do you think we might try to use somewhat violent means to protect the edge of the greenhouses, to protect whatever fragments remained? " so basically shes jsutifying the murder of innocents by terrorists. Many Palestinians, including Abu Mazen, seem to be realizing that its the terrorism that CAUSES the occupation. Doesnt sound like this lady was encouraging them in that path. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-05-22 13:59:55 |
| #1 Once again, here is the Angel of Peace(tm) teaching Paleo schoolchildren how to properly burn an American flag. |
| Posted by: Scooter McGruder 2003-05-22 13:59:08 |