|
American peace activist killed by Israeli bulldozer in Gaza
Episcopal News Service
Issue:
Section:
2003-059-1
Posted: Tuesday, March 18, 2003
|
A 23-year-old college student from Olympia, Washington, was killed by an Israeli Defense Forces bulldozer during a March 16 house demolition in the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Rachel Corrie was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) that seeks to block demolitions of Palestinian houses.
According to ISM officials, Corrie was wearing a bright orange jacket blocking the path of the bulldozer and shouting at the driver. A spokesperson said, 'There's no way he didn't see her, since she was practically looking into the cabin. At one stage, he turned around toward the building. The bulldozer kept moving, and she slipped and fell off the plow. But the bulldozer kept moving, the shovel above her. I guess it was about 10 or 15 meters that it dragged her and for some reason didn't stop. We shouted like crazy to the driver through loudspeakers that he should stop, but he just kept going and didn't lift the shovel. Then it stopped and backed up. We ran to Rachel. She was still breathing.'
Corrie's parents issued a statement saying their daughter 'was filled with love and a sense of duty to her fellow man, wherever they lived. And she gave her life trying to protect those that are unable to protect themselves.' The US State Department has demanded a full and immediate investigation by Israel.
A Red Crescent ambulance took the badly injured woman to a hospital in Rafah where she was declared dead on arrival. Army sources said the demolitions were meant to prevent sabotage along a road parallel to the Egyptian border.
The ISM is an international pacifist movement that draws its inspiration from an Albert Einstein quote: 'The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.'
(Photos of the incident are available at the International Solidarity Movement website.)
|
|
|
|
| © 2004, The Episcopal Church, USA. Episcopal News Service content may be reprinted without permission as long as credit is given to ENS. |
|
|
|
