5-4-03
The day was hot on the eastern edge of Jerusalem. Half way up a steep hillside on the fringe of the village of Anata a group of 30 Israelis and Palestinians labored to build a sculpture garden in memory of Rachel Corrie. The sculptor was in attendance, supervising the installation of three small concrete houses within a cradle of debris from the nearby demolished home of the Shawamreh family.
The Shawamreh home had been demolished for the fourth time just two days before and already the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions had a bulldozer working to clear the site in preparation for another rebuilding. The work is supported and funded by the Global Campaign to Rebuild Palestinian Homes. Activists at the event vowed to keep rebuilding the house again and again until a just peace is achieved and the crimes of the Israeli government cease.
Sitting quietly on the grass was Arabia Shawamreh, mother of six children, and wife to Salim. She had spoken hardly a word for two days, and visited the hospital twice for seditive medication. Her heart was broken – again, and her hopes for a normal life in a family home has been shattered – again. Each demolition brought back the memories of the first time, when soldiers had hurled tear gas into the house and dragged and beaten Salim in front of Arabia and the children. Their story is an icon of the continuing suffering of the thousands of families who have had their homes demolished in the Occupied Territories, and in Israel.
Their story reflects the tragedy of Rachel Corrie who gave her life on March 16th 2003 in attempting to thwart a home demolition in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Her sacrifice and the sacrifices of all the Palestinian people were uppermost in everyone’s mind and they labored to build the memorial sculpture.
Rachel’s father, Craig Corrie, made a telephone call to the group from his home in the USA. Despite his continuing grief, he had words of encouragement for the work of the activists, and appreciation for the efforts to keep Rachel’s memory alive.
By noon the work was complete. The sculpture was in place and areas had been prepared for a future garden to be planted around it. The bulldozer clearing the nearby rubble was silenced and all present gathered in a circle at the memorial. Words of grief and hope were spoken in Arabic, Hebrew and English. Tears were shed and emotions were evident in the faces of the assembled company as they grappled with the issues of life and death, oppression and resistance.
Finally there was complete silence as each person walked to the memorial and placed a single flower on the sculpture. The only sound was the harp, playing softly in the background, soothing and poignant.
In attendance were members of the board of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and representatives of the International Solidarity Movement, Ta’ayush, Gush Shalom , The American Friends Service Committee, The Christian Peacemakers Team, and others.
The sculpture was created by Tel Aviv artist, Danny Reisner, and the harp music performed by Sunita Staneslow.
