OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

ZMAG: Rachel Corrie's Mother Speaks Out


ON MARCH 16, 23-year old Rachel Corrie, a Palestinian rights activist working with the International Solidarity Movement, stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer in the city of Rafah in Gaza.

For three hours, there had been a standoff, as Rachel and others blocked the bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home. Activists at the scene say that the driver of the bulldozer knew that Rachel was in front of him--and deliberately drove toward her.

Initially, he covered her in sand and other heavy debris on her. Then the bulldozer pushed Rachel to the ground and drove over her--then went into reverse to drive over her again. Rachel’s arms, legs and skull were fractured. She died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

As if to underline Israel’s contempt for Palestinians and anyone who supports them, a few days later, soldiers threw stun grenades and tear gas canisters at a group of Palestinian and international activists gathered for a memorial service at the spot where Rachel was crushed.

Joseph Smith, a student from Missouri, said the group had gathered to lay carnations and plant a tree, when Israeli armored personnel carriers moved in. "They started firing tear gas and blowing smoke, then they fired sound grenades," Smith told a reporter. Later, while some of the 100 remained at the spot, Israeli forces drove by in another convoy--including the very bulldozer that had crushed Rachel to death.

Here, Rachel's mother, Cindy, talks to Socialist Worker’s GANESH LAL.