Memorial events to commemorate the life and work of Rachel Corrie will take place in several cities:

Pineville, NC

The Islamic Center of Charlotte-South will hold a memorial for Rachel Corrie on Saturday, March 15 at 8:00 p.m. Rachel’s work for peace and justice will be remembered by the reading of her last words and watching her last recorded interview and a documentary on the plight of the Palestinian people. As we remember her death, we will also remember another 5th anniversary (the invasion of Iraq) and all the victims of unjust war and violence. The event will take place at 559 N. Polk St. Pineville, NC. Contact: Jibril Hough at (704)258-0304. Read the rest

Jen Marlowe, a documentary filmmaker, human rights activist, and family friend of the Corries, recently visited Gaza . Here is a piece she wrote about her experiences, originally posted on TomDispatch.com and reposted with kind permission from Jen.

The Tightening Noose

Gaza under Hamas, Gaza under Siege
By Jen Marlowe

Images from Rafah flicker on my computer screen. Gazans blowing up chunks of the wall that stood between them and Egypt, punching holes in the largest open-air prison in the world and streaming across the border. An incredible refusal to submit.

I learn via email that my friend Khaled Nasrallah rented a truck in order to drive food and medicine from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. He was acting for no humanitarian organization. He’s just a resident of Rafah, a Palestinian town which borders Egypt, with a deep need to help and an opportunity to seize.
Read the rest

On November 4, 2007, the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice, Students Educating Students About the Middle East (SESAME, of the Evergreen State College), and Building Revolution by Increasing Community Knowledge (BRICK, of South Puget Sound Community College) sponsored a fund raising speaking engagement for Dahr Jamail and poet Suheir Hammad at the Capitol Theatre in downtown Olympia. You can find clips of Suheir here and here.

Behind the Current Israeli Escalation in Gaza: Questions and Answers

Dr. Steve Niva; Member of the Faculty, Middle East Studies, The Evergreen State College

1. There seems to be a massive upsurge in violence in Gaza these past few days; what is happening?

It is important to recognize that the violence is mostly one-sided. On the one side, Israel is conducting a major military operation into the Northern Gaza Strip that includes ground forces, air-strikes and missile-strikes in crowded residential neighborhoods. It has also fired upon ambulances and destroyed many civilian homes. On Saturday (March 1), Israeli operations killed over 60 Palestinians, some of them were reported to be armed fighters but at least half of them were civilians, including 10 children and three women. Since last Wednesday (February 27) the Israeli assault has killed over 100 Palestinians and injured over 200. Israel claims this is only the first phase of the operation; the next phase will involve more ground troops.

Read the rest

Saturday, March 8, 2008 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm - The Olympia Center, Room 200 - 222 Columbia St. NW, Olympia

Bring ideas, designs, drawings, photographs to collaborate on a mural composition. We will visually develop these themes: Resistance, Reconciliation, Return, and Relationships, within the context of our mural mission:

Read the rest