28 August 2012

“Rachel Corrie died trying to protect her friends“

Tom Dale, who witnessed Corrie's death, reacts to the verdict clearing Israel of blame.

In 2003, pro-Palestinian activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer while protesting the destruction of houses in Rafah.

Today, an Israeli court found:

There had been no fault in the internal Israeli military investigation clearing the driver of the bulldozer that crushed Corrie to death in March 2003 of any blame. The judge said the driver had not seen the young American activist. Corrie could have saved herself by moving out of the zone of danger as any reasonable person would have done, said Judge Oded Gershon. He ruled that no compensation would be paid and the family would not have to pay costs of the case.

(via The Guardian)

We asked Tom Dale, news editor at the Egypt Independent – who was protesting alongside Corrie that day – for his reaction to the verdict.

He told us:

The verdict in Rachel’s case is saddening for for all those who knew Rachel, and for all who believe in what she stood for. It should be disappointing for all those who want to see justice done in Israel and Palestine.

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THANK YOU

On 16 March 2003, Rachel could not have been more visible: standing, on a clear day, in the open ground, wearing a high visibility vest. On that day, she had been in the presence of the Caterpillar D9 bulldozers used by the Israeli army for some hours.

She was standing in front of the home of a young family which was under threat of demolition by a bulldozer. Many homes were demolished in such a way at that time, and Rachel was seeking to protect her friends, with whom she had lived.

Even going by the visibility charts provided by the Israeli state during the case, in my judgement the bulldozer driver must at some point have been able to see Rachel, during the period in which his vehicle approached her. As I told the court, just before she was crushed, Rachel briefly stood on top of the rolling mound of earth which had gathered in front of the bulldozer: her head was above the level of the blade, and just a few metres from the driver. I do not find it plausible that he did not see her.

Those of us who are familiar with events under occupation in Palestine are may not be surprised by this verdict, which reflects a long-standing culture of impunity for the military, but we should be outraged.

I didn’t have a chance to get to know Rachel as well as I would have liked, since we spent just a few weeks together, but she is a tremendous loss to us all.