A Letter from Cindy Corrie, Rachel Corrie's Mother

Remarks for Coalition for Women for Peace
May 30, 2003

From Cindy Corrie, Mother of Rachel Corrie

I am so glad to have the opportunity to write to all of you today:
Israeli women (Jews and Palestinians) and Palestinian women from the
Occupied Territories˜all of you gathered today in the name of peace,
joined by men who come in that same spirit. I know that there are now
many around the world who have been moved to action by my daughter
Rachel‚s example˜by her bold decision to leave the relative safety of
her comfortable life in the United States and to come to the Occupied
Territories and there to bravely, non-violently oppose the terrible
oppression of the occupation; but today I would like to share with you
how in the aftermath of Rachel‚s death, our family has been comforted
and strengthened by the work that you do and by your example.

When Rachel was killed on March 16 of this year, e-mail quickly began to
pour in from all over the world. Some of the earliest included ads from
Ha‚aretz placed by Israeli Jews who understood why Rachel had come to
Gaza, who understood why she stood up to the bulldozer that day, who
understood that in her compassionate heart there was love for all
humanity. It was helpful to us to hear from you and to be able to share
with other Americans that there are Jews in Israel who oppose this
occupation. E-mail came from the Occupied Territories, too, from
Palestinians who told us that because of Rachel they were making a
commitment to work non-violently for justice. It was helpful to us to
hear from you and to be able to share with other Americans that there
are Palestinians in Israel and in the Occupied Territories who live in
the direst of circumstances but who resist non-violently, each day doing
the best that they can to care for their families-- to feed, clothe, and
educate their children.

In June of 2002, Rachel wrote in some of her college work, „I think it‚s
important for people who oppose war and repression to speak about who we
are as a community in addition to speaking about war and racism and
injustice. We are not outside. I think it‚s important that human
rights and resistance to oppression be included in the way we define
ourselves as a community.‰

Through this experience of losing Rachel our family finds our community
changing and expanding as people reach across town, across the U.S., and
across the world to let us know that they share Rachel‚s ideals and that
they are moved by her example to work as you all are doing against war
and racism and injustice. Making these worldwide connections makes it
easier to do our work. Hearing about your projects, exchanging e-mails,
talking with you across thousands of miles, gives us courage and
determination to go out and speak to Americans. We know that this is
not simply a Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This is a United
States-Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Americans need to understand
their role in it. There have been times when I have been quiet because
I felt there were others who knew more. But I am no longer intimidated
by experts and critics and certainly not by the name-callers. After
all, my daughter had the courage to stand in front of a bulldozer in
order to protect the Palestinian home of a family with three young
children. I have a responsibility as Rachel‚s mother to speak out and to
demand that the experts, the policymakers, Congress, and the White House
reflect our values˜our beliefs in the sanctity of each life, in the
equality of each human being, and in justice and the rule of law.

We cherish our new connections with the community of Palestinian
peacemakers. We cherish our new connections with the community of
Israeli peacemakers. We have since Rachel‚s death visited our first
mosque and attended our first services in a synagogue. I believe that
my God and Rachel‚s is not only the Christian God˜though that is our
background and faith˜not only the Jewish God, the Muslim God, or the God
of any single religion. I believe that He/She is a God of us all
working powerfully in many of us to create a more loving, saner world.
I believe my God will help me somehow to always be connected to the
spirit of my daughter˜to the beautiful, loving, magical light that she
was in my life. I will do what I can to work for the community Rachel
envisioned. I will remember these words that she wrote to me from Gaza:
„This has to stop. I think it is a good idea for us all to drop
everything and devote our lives to making this stop. I don‚t think it‚s
an extremist thing to do anymore. I still really want to dance around
to Pat Benatar and have boyfriends and make comics for my co-workers.
But I also want this to stop. Disbelief and horror are what I feel.
Disappointment. I am disappointed that this is the base reality of our
world and that we, in fact, participate in it. This is not at all what
I asked for when I came into this world. This is not at all what the
people here asked for when they came into this world. This is not the
world you and Dad wanted me to come into when you decided to have me.‰

As all of you gather today and lie down together to mourn all of the
Israelis, all of the Palestinians, and all of the Americans who have
died in this terrible conflict, I am with you and I will mourn with you,
too. But I will also cling to Rachel‚s words, „This has to stop,‰ and
I will plead with other Americans to join you in work to make this stop.

Peace to all of you.
Cindy Corrie