WEST BANK (MEMO) – On a Friday 19 years ago, a 23-year-old American woman was killed by a Zionist bulldozer while protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes in the southern town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Since then, she has become an icon of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Born on April 10, 1979, in Olympia, Washington, Rachel Corrie had dedicated her life to human rights, defending Palestinian rights, in particular.
She was the youngest of three children of Craig and Cindy Corrie, who described their family as “average American, politically liberal, economically conservative and middle class.”
In 2003, she travelled to Palestine for her senior-year college assignment — to connect her hometown with Rafah, as part of a sister cities project.
During her stay, she engaged with members of the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian NGO.
There, on March 16, she stood in front of a Zionist bulldozer, staging a peaceful protest to protect the home of a Palestinian family from demolition. She was crushed to death when the bulldozer driver ran her over, according to witnesses.
Gazans received news of her murder with grief and horror, describing her as a “martyr” and staging a massive funeral for the American activist.
Near the home that Corrie was protesting to save, Palestinians launched an annual sports championship in her memory.
Yearly memorial sporting events are held in Palestine to honor the activist. It was launched in 2010 by a football match between the two teams from that neighborhood and evolved into an official championship with more than 32 competing sports teams from all parts of Gaza.
Nearly two decades on, the championship is still held every year with several sports including football, table tennis and martial arts, attended by thousands of Palestinians, according to Mohammad Gharib, the event’s Information Coordinator.
An investigation into her death by the occupying regime concluded that it was an ‘accident’.
Neither the international community nor Corrie’s parents have bought the Zionist regime’s explanation.
In 2005, Corrie’s parents filed a civil lawsuit against the regime, asserting that she had either been intentionally killed or that the troops had shown criminal negligence.
They sued for a symbolic one U.S. dollar in damages.