The parents of Rachel Corrie were among a group who entered Gaza to deliver aid and witness the aftermath of the Israeli siege on the most densely populated place on Earth
Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, joined a 60-member aid delegation organized by CODEPINK which was granted entry to Gaza through the Egyptian border crossing at Rafah on Saturday. The group, which included The Color Purple novelist Alice Walker, delivered medical supplies and wanted to mark International Women’s Day in the war torn area.
The delegation was invited by the Gender Initiative of the United Nations’ Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which promotes the rights of girls and women in the Gaza Strip.
Cindy Corrie said: “Rachel chose to come to Gaza as a volunteer just as the U.S. invasion of Iraq was beginning, because she believed that the war would worsen the plight of the Palestinian people – and that this is the most forgotten part of the Occupied Territories.”
Peace delegate are posting their stories on the PINKTank and here and here and here.
Press coverage
- Activists visit Gaza to witness aftermath of war, Canada’s Globe & Mail, March 9, 2009
- Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Alice Walker, CODEPINK Founder Medea Benjamin in Gaza to Mark International Women’s Day, Democracy NOW! March 9, 2009
- With The Women of Gaza On International Women’s Day: We Will Not Be Silent!
by Ann Wright, Common Dreams, March 9, 2009 - Alice Walker holds US liable for Gaza war: Award-winning author Alice Walker says US administrations should be held accountable for Israeli aggression against the people of Gaza. PressTV.Com, March 8, 2009
- Rabble.Ca Blogs on the Gaza Delegation
- More Press Coverage:
Please check our national press room for ongoing press coverage of the trip! - A segment on Democracy Now featured the trip.
Photos
- International Women’s Day: Gaza & DC Photo Gallery on Flickr
- February Gaza Peace Delegation Photo Gallery on Flickr
CODEPINK action links
- Share the delegation’s stories and spread the word
- Continue donating to our on-going Gaza Women’s fund
CODEPINK statement:
CODEPINKers believe that supporting Israel means supporting a just and equitable peace. Compassion, the greatest virtue in all major religions, is the basic human emotion prompted by the suffering of others, and it triggers a desire to alleviate that suffering. True compassion is not circumscribed by one’s faith or the nationality of those suffering. It crosses borders; it speaks a universal language; it shares a common spirituality. Those who have suffered themselves, such as Holocaust victims, are supposed to have the deepest well of compassion.
On CODEPINK’s most recent trip to Gaza, the glimmer of hope we found among people in Gaza was the Obama administration. Many were upset that Obama did not speak out during the invasion and that peace envoy George Mitchell, on his first trip to the Middle East, did not visit Gaza or even Syria. But they felt that Mitchell was a good choice and Obama, if given the space by the American people, could play a positive role. Who can provide that space for Obama? Who can respond to the call for justice from the Palestinian people? Who can counter AIPAC, the powerful lobby that supports Israeli aggression? An organized, mobilized, coordinated grassroots movement is the critical counterforce— and we need you to stand with us and do your part for peace!
As Sholom Schwartzbard, a member of Jews Against the Occupation, explained at a New York City protest, “We know from our own history what being sealed behind barbed wire and checkpoints is like, and we know that ‘Never Again’ means not anyone, not anywhere – or it means nothing at all.” A peaceful and just resolution of the tragedy of occupation, now in its 42nd year, will be a relief and blessing to Israel as well as to the Palestinians.
Let’s take our compassion and concern and turn it into action:
- US citizens must tell their Members of Congress that they want them to pursue a balanced, constructive foreign policy that will lead to an end of the occupation and the establishment of a just peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Please call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 today!
- Ask George Mitchell to meet with the women of Gaza
- Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing your views, and/or call in to political talk radio.
- Bring up these issues in your faith community; read, watch videos, host discussions.
