A letter from Rachel Corrie's family to the people of Gaza | SoundVision.com

A letter from Rachel Corrie's family to the people of Gaza

Peace Vigil and Rachel Corrie memorial

April 23, 2003

Greetings to all of our friends in the Occupied Territories. We, the parents, sister and brother of Rachel Corrie, want to thank you for all you did for Rachel while she was working in Rafah and for all you have done to honor her memory since she died on March 16. We understand that you will be remembering her especially on the fortieth day anniversary of her death. Know that we will be thinking of all of you.

We are grateful to those of you who became Rachel's friends and who welcomed her into your homes and shared your tea and food with her. She wrote to us about you and about your wonderful families. She admired how you supported one another even as you struggled against the cruelties of the occupation. Writing about you, Rachel told us:

" I am nevertheless amazed at their strength in being able to defend such a large degree of their humanity-laughter, generosity, family-time-against the incredible horror occurring in their lives and against the constant presence of death......I am also discovering a degree of strength and of basic ability for humans to remain human in the direst of circumstances.... I think the word is dignity."

We are grateful to those of you who cared for Rachel as she died and after. We will always remember the respect and love with which she was treated in life and in death by the people of Gaza.

We are grateful to all of you who have honored Rachel's memory during these past weeks. It lifts our spirits to hear of the Rachel Corrie Children and Youth Cultural Center in Rafah and the Rachel Corrie Center for Women's Empowerment. We know there are now newborn babies named Rachel and streets that bear her name, too. We cannot find adequate words to tell you how much these things mean to us. Thank you for the many ways in which you have honored our daughter and sister.

Rachel wrote to us that coming to Rafah was one of the best things she had ever done in her life. She told us that she would stay in Rafah longer than she had originally planned. She had watched another ISM volunteer say goodbye to the families she had grown close to, and Rachel said she saw then how hard it would be to one day leave all of you.

She had dreams of making connections between Rafah and her hometown in the United States-Olympia, Washington. She had started planning to make Rafah and Olympia sister cities. She had gone to her old elementary school in Olympia and had encouraged the children there to write letters to the children in Rafah. She was hoping to help the women in Rafah who make handcrafted items to sell those items at a fair trade store in Olympia. Rachel wanted your voices to be heard in the United States.

Had she lived, Rachel would have worked to make all these things happen. Now, we want you to know that many people in the United States are working very hard to make these dreams of Rachel's come true. The dreams are not forgotten. Rachel is not forgotten. And your suffering is not forgotten.

Our family wants very much to come to Rafah. We plan to do so as soon as we are able. When we come, we hope to meet the children who taught Rachel Arabic words, the grandmother who watched out for her health, and the families with whom she shared meals and tea. We hope to visit the Rachel Corrie Children and Youth Cultural Center and the Rachel Corrie Center for Women's Empowerment and maybe to meet a newborn baby named Rachel. We are eager to look into your eyes and to have you look into ours as we remember Rachel together.

We want you to know that each day here in the United States we are doing all that we can to make Americans aware of your suffering. We will continue to work here for a just and peaceful resolution to this conflict that has caused so much loss for each of you and now for us, as well. We know that Rachel will forever be linked to the Palestinian people. She brought your story to us so that now, you will always be in our hearts.

Sincerely,

Cindy, Craig, Chris, and Sarah Corrie

 

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Comments

you can see the fruits of rachel's work and ultimate sacrifice. it's all good. God bless the Palestinians and the Corrie family.

Location

I couldn't complete this article without crying. Rachel is an angel. She has put people like us who don't do anything, even when we know the situation well because we have grown up in developing countries witnessing these events ourselves. Here is a person, who has grown up in extreme comfort of USA, leaving all that to share the suffering of helpless people.In other words, she chose to become a martyr, rather than being forced into one. That is were the true nobility of her comes out. That is why she is an angel.May God bless her and her family and give us a tiny fraction of her heart.

Location

Hyderabad, India

To the families and friends of Rachel Courrie, may The Almighty Allah bless and reward Rachel for the sacrifice she made in honour of men, women and children of Palestine, and people of all races, color and religion the world over, oppressed everyday. May Allah comfort you, and us all, for indeed, we have all lost a great person. Rachel will never be forgotten, and her fight Insha Allah will go on, for it is a fight with a good course. I pray that the Israelies will end their illegal occupation of the Palestinian's land Insha Allah soon. May there be many more brothers and sisters out there to help fight this "Fight". Amin.

Location

Dubai, U.A.E.

To Ms. Rachel Corrie's Family, My sincerest and deepest sympathy for the loss of your daughter. May Allah bless Rachel for her sacrifice. May Allah comfort you and may Allah end the illegal occupation of Palestine and end Israel's atrocities towards the Palestinians.

Location

Houston, Texas

May Allah bless Rachel for her sacrifice. She was a true martyr. May Allah comfort Rachel's friends and families. And may Allah end the illegal occupation of Palestine and end Israel's atrocities towards the Palestinians. Let there be peace...and justice.

Location

planet earth

To Ms. Rachel Corrie's Family,Assalamu AlaikumMy sincerest and deepest sympathy for the loss of your daughter. Your words are so very moving. As I sat reading them, I cried as if I have known Ms. Rachel all my life, yet I never even had the pleasure of meeting her.Thank you for passing on her true commitment to the "dignity" of the suffering people she tried to shield from the inhumanity shown them. Thank you for the kindness you yourselves are showing in continuing her work. May God Bless you and all who are working for peace and justice evrywhere.Salam,Peace,Truly,Munna

Location

Illinois, USA

Assalamu alaikom,Can you please forward the following message to Rachel's parents? And thank you.To Mr. Mrs. Corrie,I would like to mourn your daughter's death, for she was working/fighting for a cause which needed people of the same beliefs if I may indicate to fight for. I think, and I'm sure others share the same view, that it was extremely courageous of her to stand before the 'tank' and try to defend the homes of people who in a way globally have a problem with posing their beliefs which are very peaceful and ensure that people's rights are protected. I thank you perhaps on behalf of those she defended and on my behalf as being a moslem and should in a way defend also those people's rights. Obliging each other to believe in something is not the issue as long as we respect each other and are good to each other. However, I strongly do not believe that anyone should jeopardize their lives for worldly matters such as houses. I'm sure she meant to defend a much more noble cause than the house/s. I hope her sacrifice will help if not make the goals she wanted to achieve come true. May God have mercy on the believers.Best wishes,Hanadi

Location

Lebanon

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