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IDEALS -- Rachel Corrie in London Play

by Oui
Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 02:14:52 AM EST

New London Play Fetes U.S. Activist Killed in Gaza

LONDON (Reuters) April 21, 2005 - A new play tracing the journey of Rachel Corrie from comfortable American home to death in a Gaza refugee camp paints the young peace activist as neither a traitor nor a saint.

The 23-year-old campaigner was killed in 2003 trying to stop an Israeli army bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home in the Rafah camp in the Gaza strip. A personal testimony, the show makes no pretense of impartiality.

Corrie's death made her a hero of the four-year-old Palestinian uprising, while critics attacked her as naive, an idiot and a traitor.

Rachel Corrie

[...]
The show at London's Royal Court theater runs to the end of this month.

Political theater in London is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, partly fueled by public opposition to the Iraq war. Plays like last year's "Guantanamo," about prisoners at the U.S. naval base, have enjoyed big success.

Jump the fold ...

"I've got a fire in my belly," Corrie pronounces near the start of the show ...
That fire kept Corrie scribbling plans, dreams and opinions constantly in her diary and obsessively making lists. One reads: "Five people to hang out with in eternity: Rainer Maria Rilke, Jesus, ee cummings, Gertrude Stein, Zelda Fitzgerald."

Her philosophical musings on death, faithless boyfriends and improving the world become urgent, intense dispatches to friends and family after she arrives in the Middle East in January 2003.

Corrie's parents, in London to see Rickman's show, described it as an authentic portrait of their daughter. "It helps to explain what took her to Rafah, it very powerfully explains what she found there," Corrie's mother Cindy told Reuters.

Many beautiful diaries have been published at dKos - worthwhile to reread about a young woman who stood up for her ideals and paid such a cruel price in doing so, in circumstances she not fully understood.

But who ever claimed Jeanne d'Arc wasn't naive? There are so many persons with ideals that are "bulldozerd" in daily life by markt conformity and calls for proposition being "contrary" to interest -read profits- of our corporation.

Reading some of the many personal life stories published in recent diaries here at BT, a great diversity in background, education, life's experience, family unity, religion, ambition and life's expectancy became clear. I wonder what is the common factor that binds this community - my answer is IDEALS.

I would appreciate your own views on ideals in near future, worthwhile to be active in pursuit. They do not necessarily have to be politically based, but I expect to see a lot in common for the BooMan Tribune contributors.

Thank you.

PS All Good News stories are welcome.

APPENDIX - REFERENCES

In Memory of Rachel Corrie

Evergreen State College - Rachel Corrie

Olympia, Washington Links

2 years ago our "American Sgrena" was killed... And the US did nothing
by lawnorder Wed Mar 16th, 2005

Law Suits Filed Two Years After Rachel Corrie's Killing

Two years after the killing of American peace activist Rachel Corrie in Jenin [I believe it was Rafah, Gaza near Egyptian border - Ed] two law suits have been filed against Israel and Caterpillar, the company that manufactured specially designed bulldozers so Israel Defence could effectively bulldoze the homes of suspected terrorists and their extended families. See...
Palestine: ISM Update Remembering Rachel Corrie

EARLIER REPORTS:
Scoop Report: A Memorial to Rachel Corrie

ISM Statement On The Killing Of Rachel Corrie And Its Aftermath

Earlier dKos diary:
NATIONAL DISGRACE: Family of Rachel Corrie Forced to Plead With Ariel Sharon
by krag Wed Jan 12th, 2005

The family of American peace activist Rachel Corrie has had a letter hand-delivered to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon by Rep. Adam Smith. The letter asks for an independent investigation into her death. Corrie was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer, while attempting to halt the demolition of the house of a Palestinian doctor in March of 2003, just as the Iraq war was launched. Seven eyewitnesses have signed sworn affidavits insisting Corrie was murdered.

Sometimes mentioning Rachel Corrie can get you in deep trouble at dKos --
Rachel Corrie and dKos temperament

Oui - Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité

IDEALS -- Rachel Corrie in London Play | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

An amazing woman (none / 1)

.
So sad, yet see made a difference in the lives she touched!

Oui - Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité

by Oui on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 02:17:16 AM EST

Re: An amazing woman (none / 1)

Thank you for this! This is exciting news.... I hope the play comes here someday. It should, I would think. At least to Olympia or Seattle.

btw, I wrote a diary -- "Honoring Rachel Corrie Who Died Two Years Ago Today" -- diary to commemorate her death, and included an e-mail that I wrote two years ago after my daughter and I drove 3 hours, each way, to attend her memorial service -- an incredible experience that I wrote down so I'd remember and be able to share it in the future.

But I was stunned by the reactions in the comments, e.g., "Rachel Corrie made a mistake, and wasted her life by playing sides in a battle where there is no clear moral choice."

Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 09:19:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Thank you Susan (none / 0)

once again for inspiring words written in your diary. I also admire the curriculum of The Evergreen State College and the honor given to Rachel Corrie.

Every time I read about those moments, I get chills all around me, how lonely Rachel must have felt confronting such a frightening and HUGE caterpillar, demolishing blocks of Palestinian homes in Rafah.

Israel and Sharon, took the period leading up to the war and US invasion of Iraq, to push forward their agenda in Gaza and the West Bank. The shooting -murder- of the BBC TV reporter in the same period, was very similar and awful.

Oui - Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité

by Oui on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 10:17:02 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Thank you Susan (none / 0)

James Miller? Wasn't the Israeli soldier exonerated just recently? I seem to remember Amy talking about it. Then there was activist Brian __last name__ whose face was shot off by an Israeli soldier as Brian reached to pull a child out of harm's way.

Hickok: "You know the sound of thunder. Can you imagine that sound if I ask you to? Ma'am, listen to the thunder."

by susanhu (susanhuatearthlinkdotnet) on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 10:31:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Rabobank HQ in Utrecht (none / 0)

.
Confirmed today all their lease cars for 1,500 employees - 45m kilometers per year - will be bought based on low fuel-consumption and environmental state-of-the-art models.

Oui - Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité

by Oui on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 02:18:34 AM EST

Re: IDEALS -- Rachel Corrie in London Play (none / 1)

oui, i was reading a diary about marla ruzicka on dkos that made me think of rachel corrie and i posted this link there, obviously it's relevant here :

"i hope you don't mind but i'd like to mention here that rachels mother cindy corrie recently lent her support calling for a boycott of all caterpillar products."

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little. - Edmund Burke

by ukrich on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 09:07:31 AM EST

Great diaries at dKos on Marla Ruzicka (none / 1)

.
Thank you ukrich, for your call to a good cause, and link to another fine diary.

Marla is gone, but Robin continues: UPDATE
by dinazina Wed Apr 20th, 2005

The recent death of humanitarian activist Marla Ruzicka in Iraq has drawn many sorrowful comments from Kossaks. Iraq is considered dangerous enough that few relief workers and journalists (real ones, not embedded) dare to work there any longer.

Once again I direct your attention to Robin Fasano, whom I met last month. My diary of a few weeks ago, BEYOND THE GREEN ZONE: EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT, slid by and perished rather quickly; please read it if you have time.

I hope you didn't miss my diary on Marla Ruzicka!
Upthread - see link to susanhbu's diary on Rachel Corrie! Excellent.

A call for a boycott of Israeli Universities was made this week by Britain's lecturers' association: three of Israel's eight universities - Haifa University, Bar Ilan University and Jerusalem's Hebrew University - due to their alleged support of government policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
British academics may boycott Israel

Bar Ilan University

Oui - Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité

by Oui on Fri Apr 22nd, 2005 at 10:00:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

IMHO Objection should be directed at ... (none / 0)

the US Government and the Central Command responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. In accordance with the Geneva conventions, the occupying forces are required to keep track of all military and civilian casualties, deaths and severe wounded.

Is my comment in reply to Euroliberal at dKos --

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree

Marla, I disagree with because she is making a statement from the heart which does not always mean they are correct in a political sense. Many well-meaning people tend to do that.

From the article you quoted, you see that there are four different numbers in play and also mentions that the British gov chose to use the lowest i.e. the 6,000. Was that by chance? Certainly no! It suits their politics and their message. If we start using the low estimates ourselves, one day we might regret to see that the other side will accept it and point out that we also did, nevermind if it's a fifth or 50% of the actual total.
I tend to go with 10's of thousands. The guilt of "we don't do bodycounts" belongs to them as well.

"As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities." Voltaire

by Euroliberal on Sun Apr 24th, 2005 at 16:24:45 EST

A number of humanitarian organizations have kept track of the incidents and investigated the casualties. The death count of the invasion and the first three weeks of battle, was between 12 and 15,000 Iraqis. In the two years that have passed, at least another 15,000 Iraqis were killed. The estimate in the report of the Lancet of Britain, I find not convincing, was a total of 98,000 Iraqis died.

So, whereas the US refrains from their obligation, I will use the number of 30,000 as best educated estimate for the Iraqi body count.

* * *

Several excellent diaries have been published on the life and work of Marla Ruzicka in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marla took care not to make political statements, and focused on her humanitarian endeavor. Yes, where damages where due for civilian casualties and damages, she was involved to cut through the red tape and put pressure on the occupying forces to deliver on their promises.

Oui - Liberté - Egalité - Fraternité

by Oui on Mon Apr 25th, 2005 at 12:58:21 AM EST

IDEALS -- Rachel Corrie in London Play | 8 comments (8 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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