Palestine Uncovered in My Name Is Rachel Corrie
2008; Issue: 28 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
1110-8673
Autores Tópico(s)Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
ResumoConstructed by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner out of various entries from Rachel Corrie's diaries and e-mails from Gaza, My Name Is Rachel uncovered a Palestine that has been methodically shielded from Western eyes by the corporate media, and brought the issue of censorship into open critical debate following its cancellation in New York. At the heart of the controversy surrounding My Name Is Rachel is not only the energetic intertwinement of the elements that define and shape its nature but primarily those that constitute its genesis. ********** It is, of course, very hard not to cringe before the powerful, and it is highly advantageous to betray the weak. --Bertolt Brecht (1) It is highly unlikely that the Western consumer of corporate media would have ever heard of the Palestinian town of Rafah in Gaza, had it not been for the life and death of Rachel A twenty-three-year-old student at Evergreen State College in Washington State, Rachel, who had joined a group of internationals, was crushed to death by a military Caterpillar bulldozer while trying to prevent it from destroying a Palestinian house. The repercussions of the circumstances of Rachel's death resonated throughout the Western world and generated a variety of conflicting responses that reflected the passionate intensity the international discourse on the question of Palestine can take, and the intense animosity it can generate. Within two days of her death, the Guardian published the emails Rachel had sent to her family and friends since arriving in Palestine in late January, 2003. (2) On the same day her e-mails were published, the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, the Diamondback, published a cartoon showing the figure of Rachel squatting on the ground while a bulldozer advanced towards her. The cartoon ridiculed Rachel by referring in the caption to her actions as stupid as well as charging her with protecting a gang of terrorists. (3) The cartoon generated 'controversy' and, in spite of student protest, sit-ins, and letters sent to its editor, the newspaper refused to apologize on the grounds that it would be a violation of the First Amendment. (4) In Palestine the scene was distinctly different. On the very same day the cartoon appeared in the Diamondback in her native USA, thousands of miles away, and at a memorial service held on March 18, 2003 in Rafah, Palestine, near the spot where she was killed, Israeli forces fired teargas and stun grenades ... in an attempt to break up a memorial service for Rachel Corrie. (5) To the population of Rafah who got to know her personally, there was sorrow, mourning, and remembrance: The residents of Rafah opened a house of condolences for Rachel in the center of the city, while national and Islamic factions, NGOs and popular institutions released various statements condemning the ugly crime and praising the heroism of members of the International Solidarity Movement, their positions and actions, and the role Rachel played in defending Palestinian homes in Rafah. (6) The vilification of Rachel has not been limited to her person, but was automatically extended to encompass the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), of which she was a member. The standard response of Zionist supporters to the death of Rachel has not been limited to casting doubts on her integrity, but also to assigning her a conspiratorial role as an accomplice of organized terrorism. The obsession of Zionists with Rachel is such that almost a year after she was killed, accusations were still made to the effect that Corrie and other ISM members had to know they were aiding and abetting terrorists, if they were not participating in terrorism themselves. (7) But there were also tributes to Rachel in the form of songs and poems by artists from various parts of the world. …
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