Tribute+to+Rachel+Corrie,+by+Makgwadu+Steve+Pheeha

Subject: Re: he who lives for others never dies... tribute to Rachel Corrie

 * Dear Comrades!**

In the last few days I have read several articles and headlines of both international and national importance. Maybe this was my own modest way of paying tribute to the women the world over as we commemorated the 08 March. Although all were newsworthy, I must say I did find the article forwarded to me by cde Carmen very much challenging and moving to say the least. For the benefit of those of us who are not good in reading the Spanish language, perhaps it will be good to give a brief overview of the article so that you may then understand why I chose to write this few lines in memory of Rachel.

Rachel was a 23-year-old university student in Washington. Just like many of us she was convinced of a better world and believed in a Peaceful world. During her vacations last year, she decided to take her fight against Imperialism even further by deciding to go to Palestine to join the struggle of the Palestinian people. Part of their daily campaigns in Palestine involved resisting the destruction of the tents and temporary homes of the Palestinians by the Israeli Authorities. The Israeli authorities used big Excavator trucks (ganda-gandas) to destroy these refugee tents.

By the way we should remember that up to this day, Palestinians still fight to have their proper place to stay. They have been and continue to be forced into being perpetual refugees.

One day when Rachel and her friends made human shields to prevent the Israeli excavators from destroying the Palestinian refugee tents, the driver of the excavator truck ignored the pleas of Rachel who was lying down on the "pathway" of the truck towards destroying the refugee tents and houses. As Rachel continued to stay grounded in protest, the driver who saw her went ahead and drove over her.

Rachel's young body was badly injured and ultimately lost her life in the hands of the doctors who tried to save this young life.

This is a real story of a young American girl who had it all, but because of her conviction about peace, justice and a better world for all, could not remain in the comfort zone of her protective world while many people were suffering in the other parts of the world. She graduated from being a theorist to being an implementer of some of the things she believed in. What an amazing young life.

Irrespective of being a white, privileged American university student, Rachel at 23 chose to fight the battles with the less fortunate people of the world. She did not coach from the side lines, but she joined the frontlines of the battlefield to take the enemy head on. I must confess that I have not heard or seen such courage in young lives in a long time. Many children out there in countries like Iraq, Palestine etc are giving their lives for the liberations of their countries but what make the story of Rachel even more special is that she died fighting for the freedom of other people she did not know.

Having a place to stay and call your own is the basic right of every human being.It gives each one of us a sense of belonging, identity and security. It is all about human dignity and that is what Rachel was fighting for and defending until the last breath of her life.

It appeared to me that in Rachel Corrie, Che did have a true convert. She was a youth, a woman, a true internationalist, a true revolutionary and a complete human being. Hers was life well lived. Although I am a little bit older than Rachel, I find myself asking questions if I will ever live the qualitative life she lived. The young life of Rachel is asking many of us who are in the battle for the construction of a better world many questions. With her, having paid the ultimate price that all revolutionaries have to pay for their cause, I find myself asking the question as to how much am I willing to give to the cause I claim to be believing in.

How strong are my convictions that every human being deserve respect, dignity and to be treated justly. I feel bad that most of the time I find myself giving excuses of lack of time and resources to pursue my struggles against the Imperialist agenda. The truth is that no amount of time and money will ever be there for me to use to fight the imperialist forces. Rachel 's bravery and total surrender to her cause has just made me realize that I only need to create that time and those resources if I am truly convinced that a better world is possible.

As revolutionaries, we need to be forceful and resilient to the pressures of this world. The message I am getting from Rachel and many Revolutionaries who paid the highest prizes for their cause is that if family, work, and study commitments are going to be our excuses, maybe we are not yet ready to join the battle field to fight for a more peaceful and better world where humanity can live in peace with each other.

The memories of our fallen heroes do not ask of us to be irresponsible fanatics, but that we each one of us use every given opportunity at our disposal to carry forward what they died fighting for. In our families, places of work, places of studying and socialising, we should always do something that will help take the fight against injustices forward. I guess in this way, although never shall we be like those martyrs, we shall be found worthy to be called Revolutionaries.

As for the system that took the young life of Rachel, the only fitting response to it is to multiply as many Rachels as possible the world over. Because the mortal young body of Rachel has succumbed to the physical destruction by the Israeli Excavator truck, her spirit should find space in each one of us the living so that through us, her fights for human dignity, justice and world peace will go on. Just as Che and many martyrs in different parts of the world live through us, so shall it be for Rachel Corrie. The mortal body of Rachel died at the age of 23, but her spirit will always live on forever.

"I did not know you in person Rachel, but through your bravery acts and modest contributions to the struggle of other people in other parts of the world, I have come to know and respect you. My salute to you rachel for being a guiding light to us the living" Steve

"..he who lives for others, never dies..."

"it does not matter how many of us die, but a better world is possible (Un mundo mejor es possible)"


 * Makgwadu Steve Pheeha**


 * //__Note from the Communist University:__//**

A play, “My Name is Rachel Corrie”, which had been successfully produced in London at the famous Royal Court Theatre under the famous actor Alan Rickman, was due to open in New York on March 22nd, 2006, but the New York theatre cancelled the booking on February 27th. This act of censorship has shocked a lot of people. Below are links to articles explaining why.


 * [|Theater, Ideology and the Censorship of "My Name is Rachel Corrie" by Walter A. Davis]**

Excerpt**: "Just the facts. The play //My Name is Rachel Corrie// was developed in the U.K. by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner. Every word of it is derived from writings and tape recordings of the late peace activist Rachel Corrie who was killed on March 16, 2003 when crushed by an Israeli army bulldozer while trying to prevent the destruction of the home of a Palestian doctor in the Al-Salaam neighborhood of Rafah city in the south portion of the Gaza strip. Ms. Corrie was clearly visible to the driver of the bulldozer who ran over her and then backed up over her body."

[|The Second Death of Rachel Corrie - Censorship of the Worst Kind, Vanessa Redgrave]**

Excerpt****: "This is censorship of the worst kind. More awful even than that: It is black-listing a dead girl and her diaries. A very brave and exceptional girl who all citizens, whatever their faith or nationality, should be proud and grateful for her existence. They couldn't silence her voice while she lived, so she was killed. Her voice began to speak again as Alan Rickman read her diaries, and Megan Dodds became Rachel Corrie. Now the New York Theatre Workshop have silenced that dear voice."

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