03/18/24 03/18/24 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i think the consequences of rafah a ground operation in rafah would be catastrophic for the people of gaza, for the palestinians. it would be catastrophic for the humanitarian situation.

it would be catastrophic all around. amy: israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is vowing to move ahead with plans to attack rafah where over 1.4 million palestinians are seeking refuge. we will go to rafah to speak with mohammed abu lebda, a poet and translator who used to translate poets like edgar allan poe but now translates for the international medical corps. then we remember u.s. peace activist rachel corrie, who was killed 21 years ago when she was crushed to death by an israeli military bulldozer in rafah as she tried to prevent the demolition of the home of a palestinian pharmacist. >> the bulldozer proceeded toward rachel. she took a position indicating she was not going to move. she was in an orange jacket. when they kept coming, she rose on the mound and the out mrs. testified her head rose above

the top of the blade of the bulldozer so she could clearly be seen by the bulldozer continued and proceeded over her. amy: we will speak with rachel corrie's parents who devoted their lives to her cause and to one of her colleagues with the international solidarity movement who held her hand as she lay dying. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the israeli military has conducted another major raid on al-shifa hospital in gaza city. there are reports israeli snipers are firing at people inside the hospital, which has also been attacked by tanks and drones. according to palestinian health officials, about 30,000 people have been sheltering at the hospital. israel said the raid was being conducted to target hamas militants. at least 80 palestinians have been detained at the hospital,

including al jazeera correspondent ismail al-ghoul. this comes as the u.n. aid agency unrwa is reporting one in three children under the age of two in northern gaza are now actually malnourished as israel continues to block aid from entering gaza. unicef executive director catherine russell said -- "the speed at which this catastrophic child malnutrition crisis in gaza has unfolded is shocking, especially when desperately needed assistance has been at the ready just a few miles away." on friday, a ship carrying 200 tons of aid arrived in gaza from cyprus, but aid groups say far more aid is desperately needed. palestinian mothers say they have nothing to feed their children. >> what has this child done to suffer from hunger? i cannot find milk.

the normal milk is 150. there is no work. there is no food. no drinks. we are eating plants. we started eating donkey food. we are like animals. amy: despite international criticism, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is vowing to move ahead with plans to attack the city of rafah, where over 1.4 million palestinians are seeking refuge. on sunday, he also criticized u.s. senate majority leader chuck schumer's call for new elections in israel. netanyahu spoke on cnn. >> i think what he said is totally inappropriate. it is inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the leadership. that is something israeli public does on its own. we are not a banana republic. amy: talks are continuing in qatar over a possible temporary ceasefire in gaza. over the weekend, hamas offered a new three-phrase ceasefire plan that includes the release

of the remaining five female hostages and 35 men who are old, sick, in exchange for 700 to 1000 palestinians held in israeli jails. hamas said it would only release israeli soldiers held captive after a permanent ceasefire is reached. on sunday, the head of the irish government leo varadkar voiced dishes joined president biden celebration at the white house. he called for ceasefire in gaza. >> the irish people are deeply -- for them before our eyes and gaza. when i traveled the world, often asked me why the irish have empathy for the palestinian people. the answer is simple. we see our history in their eyes. a story of displacement, dispossession, a national i did a question or denied,

discrimination, and now hunger. we support your work and that of your administration to secure the humanitarian ceasefire and create space for lasting peace. the people of gaza desperately need food, medicine, shelter. most especially, they need the bombs to stop. this has to stop on both sides. the hostages brought home. humanitarian relief allowed in. [applause] amy: meanwhile, protests continued around the world over the weekend, including in dublin, ireland, where protest called out the prime minister for joining president biden. in san sebastián, spain, demonstrators rallied before laying out on the ground next to a massive banner depicting part of picasso's famous anti-war painting "guernica." >> it is so tough to be a witness to a genocide that we can do nothing about stop we can just bring a great of sand even

as a tribute. amy: other large protests were held in chile, norway, australia, jordan, and across u.s. cities. russian president vladimir putin has warned the west against sending troops to ukraine saying it could lead to world war iii. putin made the remarks earlier today after he won an unprecedented fifth term in office. russian election officials say putin won 87% of the vote in this weekend's election where opposition anti-war candidates were barred from running. putin spoke at a victory rally on sunday. >> no matter who wants to frighten us, no matter how much they want to suppress is, our will to consciousness, as i have said, no one has ever succeeded in anything like this in history. it has not work now and will not work in the future. never. amy: the election came just weeks after putin's most prominent critic alexei navalny died in an arctic prison. navalny's wife yulia urged supporters to gather outside

polling stations on sunday at noon to protest putin. yulia navalnaya spoke after voting at the russian embassy in berlin. >> you are probably wondering what i wrote at the ballot papers, who i voted for. of course i wrote t navalny's name. putin's main opponent was murdered. amy: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy condemned the russian election, which was held in parts of occupied ukraine. >> there is not a single bit of legitimacy in the simulation of an election and there cannot be. this actor should be on trial in the hague. that is what we have to ensure together with everyone in the world that values life and decency. amy: zelenskyy's comment on sunday came two days after a russian missile attack on the ukrainian city of odesa killed at least 21 people and injured 73.

republican presidential candidate donald trump campaigned in ohio over the weekend and warned there would be a bloodbath in the united states if he lost the election to joe biden. pres. trump: if i don't get elected, it is going to be a bloodbath. that is going to be the least of it. it is going to be a bloodbath for the country. amy: during the same speech, trump escalated his dehumanizing attacks on migrants. pres. trump: if you call them people. in some cases, they are not people in my opinion but i am not allowed to say that because the radical left says it is a terrible thing to say. they say, after vote against him, because did you hear what he said about humanity? these are animals, ok? amy: trump also called for the jailing of lawmakers who took part in the house select committee that investigated the january 6 insurrection. in related news, trump's former vice president mike pence has

said he "cannot in good conscience" endorse trump's reelection bid. in other trump news, nathan wade has resigned as special prosecutor in the georgia election interference case against the former president. at issue was his undisclosed romantic relationship with fulton county district attorney fani willis. on friday, a judge ruled willis could remain on the case if wade resigned. meanwhile, in new york, the judge overseeing trump's hush-money trial has agreed to delay the start of the trial until mid-april. dozens of u.s. citizens left haiti on a chartered flight sunday amid an escalating political and humanitarian crisis. the flight left from an airport in cap-haïtien because haiti's main airport in port-au-prince remains shut down. about 1.4 million haitians are on the verge of famine as street violence has disrupted efforts by aid groups to distribute food. some aid containers have also

been seized by armed groups. last week, haiti's unelected prime minister ariel henry agreed to resign once a seven-person transitional council was formed but the makeup of the council has not yet been announced. the military junta in niger has ordered u.s. troops to leave the country in a major setback to u.s. military operations in africa. six years ago, the u.s. built a $110 million drone base in northern niger. the u.s. currently has about 1000 troops in the west african nation. the announcement comes months after france was forced to pull its troops from niger as well. colonel amadou abdramane spoke on saturday. >> and corporation, -- cooperation, it violates all the constitutional and democratic rules which would require the

sovereign people, in particular through its elected reo be consulted on the installation of a foreign army on its territory. amy: in senegal, opposition leaders ousmane sonko and bassirou diomaye faye were released from prison ahead of next sunday's rescheduled presidential election. their release comes after outgoing president macky sall granted the men amnesty. sall had sought to postpone the elections until after his term ends in april but was forced to backtrack following protests and after a court ruled the move was unlawful. bassirou diomaye faye is one of 19 candidates who will appear on the ballot. he is backed by the popular opposition figure ousmane sonko, who himself is barred from running. president sall has named former prime minister amadou ba as his pick to succeed him. as the humanitarian crisis worsens in sudan, u.n. officials are urging the sudanese military and rival rapid support forces to immediately allow aid deliveries to save nearly 5 million people from catastrophic hunger in the coming months.

nearly 18 million people are already facing acute food insecurity after nearly one year of war. fighting has devastated agricultural production and disrupted trade, destroyed infrastructure, disrupted trade, and has blocked most access to humanitarian aid. unicef warns hundreds of thousands of sudanese children are suffering severe malnutrition. >> the numbers have been acutely malnourished children are rising. the lean season hasn't even begun. nearly 3.7 million children are projected to be acutely malnourished in sudan, including 730,000 who life-saving treatment. the needs for children in khartoum alone are massive but this is also true in darfur where i was last month. the scale and magnitude of need for children across the country are simply staggering. sudan is now the world's largest displacement crisis. and some of the most vulnerable children are in the hardest to reach places.

amy: that was jill lawyler, chief of field operations and emergency for unicef in sudan. the u.n. general assembly is considering its a draft for its first ever resolution on artificial intelligence. the measure was spearheaded by the u.s., which says it aims to make ai safe, secure and trustworthy, and easily accessible to all. while presenting the draft resolution last week, a reporter asked u.s. ambassador to the u.n. linda thomas-greenfield if the u.s. approves of israel using ai in its assault on gaza. >> the israeli litter has confirmed they are using artificial intelligence in targeting in their war in gaza. do you condemn that and will that be taken into your account in this ai resolution? >> we have been clear this resolution is about making ai safe and secure and trustworthy. we have 60 cosponsors who have signed on to that, including

israel. i think as we move forward, we will cai bridge -- see ai ridge the gap we have seen in the past. >> fighting in gaza right now? >> that is not for me to comment on. amy: this comes as the eu approved last week its own, first-ever artificial intelligence act. but rights groups warn the legislation sets a dangerous precedent. the group access now said -- "the new ai act is littered with concessions to industry lobbying, exemptions for the most dangerous uses of ai by law enforcement and migration authorities, and prohibitions so full of loopholes that they don't actually ban some of the most dangerous uses of ai." here in new york city, mayor eric adams and the legal aid society have reached a deal which preserves new york's "right to shelter" policy for unhoused people but caps shelter stays by 30 or 60 days for newly arrived migrant adults. the settlement also bars new york city from forcing people to sleep on chairs and floors of

so-called waiting rooms where adult migrants wait in hopes of securing a shelter placement. housing and immigrant justice groups welcomed the protection of the "right to shelter" policy and said they will continue working towards making it applicable for all new yorkers. the new york civil liberties union said -- "this rollback on the right to shelter could put thousands of people on the street. everyone deserves a place to sleep -- and that includes all new arrivals." and a federal court temporarily paused new government rules that require public companies to disclose more information about their greenhouse gas emissions and the financial risks they face from the climate crisis. the case was brought by the -- by a pair of fracking companies. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, we go to rafah as a prime minister is going ahead with plans to attack

rafah where millions have sought refuge. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in gaza, where humanitarian agencies say a small amount of flour has been delivered in northern gaza for the first time in months as the u.n. food agency warns famine is imminent and 70% of palestinians in gaza are facing catastrophic hunger. this comes as unrwa, the u.n. agency for palestinian refugees, is reporting one in three children under the age of two in northern gaza is now acutely malnourished as israel continues to block most aid from entering gaza. on friday, a ship carrying 200 tons of aid arrived in gaza from cyprus, but aid groups say far more aid is desperately needed inside gaza.

despite growing international criticism, israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu is vowing to move ahead with plans of a full skilled invasion of rafah, where over 1.4 million palestinians are seeking refuge. for more, we go to rafah where we are joined by mohammed abu lebda, a poet and translator . he used to translate edgar allen poe but now translates for the international medical corps. welcome to democracy now! thank you for joining us today. can you describe the situation on the ground in rafah? and tell us about your city. >> it is my pleasure to be here. actually, as you may see in the background, i am talking about the tents that are here.

and i want to say every single street in rafah city is full of tents. after people were forced to be displaced from the gaza strip from north, khan younis and the south, they did not find any shelter in rafah city. actually, let me say the border towns usually are neglected. it is not even known, the border guards. rafah was suffering in the normal days from the lack of basic needs.

in 2014, the people of rafah were demanding to have a hospital. until now, 2024, we don't have a single hospital that can provide good medical services to the people of rafah. to just describe the horrible situation that rafah is living, rafah used to have a population of 250,000 people. now we have more than 1.4 million people without any suitable -- without providing them with necessary basic needs. the situation in northern gaza is really horrible. let me say, in rafah, there is

no big difference. people are suffering from several things. wait in line and maybe you can spend the whole day just to have some bread or even to have clean water. most of the water is polluted and not suitable for human use. it is important to mention, above all of this, the shooting and the bombing is still continuing in rafah. even if rafah was declared a safe space. amy: mohammed abu lebda, the biden administration has said they have a redline that would be the prime minister having the

israeli troops engaging in a full ground invasion in rafah if he does not present a plan for how palestinians would be dealt with on the ground, civilians. israel announced it wants to transfer the more than one million palestinians in rafah to what it calls humanitarian islands in other parts of gaza. can you explain what that means and what people are saying, how they are preparing? >> ok, to be honest, i don't know what it means. i never heard about something called save islands or something like that. the first time i heard it after reading the news. actually, there is no plan that

can easily transfer were move the over 1.4 million people from rafah even to other areas where the idf is still working. to be clear, it is not an acceptable plan. to be honest, to me and the rest of the rafah people, don't know what they are talking about because this is the first time to hear about this. i can ask the american government support real pressure and serious pressure on the israeli government so they can prevent them seriously and honestly to invade rafah. because invading rafah means there is true catastrophe that is coming. even if we are still living in

the catastrophe because the situation here cannot be described. if invading rafah means -- the hope we still have. what does this mean to me? i am a little bit worried about the safety of the entire people here because invading rafah means hundreds of thousands of people will be killed if something like that happens. i am expecting and hoping from the u.s. government to put serious pressure on the israeli government to prevent such i catastrophe from happening. amy: what does it meet your family if they do launch a full-scale invasion of rafah?

can you describe with the processes for people to leave, to make their way into egypt? the thousands of dollars that must be spent? i think on average, something like $5,000 per adult and $2000 or $2500 per child? >> let me say first, leaving gaza strip toward egypt, i mean, the entire people here, if there is a march or any march into rafah, actually, most of the world, including the u.s. government itself, they refuse that entirely. the palestinians will not be moved. they refuse. let me say that i am already

displaced because i lost my house by bombing near my house in the same square. i was forced to move to another place. the same thing for the people who were displaced from the rest of gaza strip cities. for me, my experience for me and my family, where we suffered the loss first when we were at our house in order to provide basic life needs, basic food. if there is any, will find very high prices that the normal citizen cannot really afford. it is impossible for the people in such a situation to afford

any kind of food. let me say, anything entering rafah -- literally, anything, it is not even enough for maybe half a million. we're talking about a number -- from my experience, i faced several things. first of all, we faced a very real threat that once or twice, or even facing it daily. according to the physical thing. and also i want to mention, we are facing a severe simpson related to her mental health -- symptom related to our mental

health. i'm not sure i'm going to be the person i was before when the war ends. i was changed forever. it is not me only. i'm talking about my family and the other people of the gaza strip. we are facing severe symptoms when we are talking about mental health. we are talking about children that are being raised in such situation. of course they're going to have severe symptoms. many horrible things for their mental health. they will carry that their entire lives. from all sides, people here are really suffering. amy: you are a poet. you translate edgar allan poe.

now you are a medical translator. and you describe your work -- can you describe your work? >> ok, yeah, i used to work to translate novels. this war or this catastrophe, i don't like to use the word "war" because that cannot be described. anyway, i used to translate -- it means i am a sensitive person with many emotions. you need that to translate poetry or novels or something like that. this catastrophe changed us forever. even our jobs. medical translator and interpreter at a field hospital

here between rafah city and khan younis. my work as a medical translator, it was the first time to be in the field in such situations. i can say i am witnessing very, very horrible situations. i am witnessing daily many casualties that are arriving to the field hospital because we don't have -- we lost every government service because of the destruction of any hospitals. the hospital in rafah cannot provide assistance. the field hospital, established by the international medical corps, in only two must they performed about 1000 major surgeries.

which is really a great thing to have. the outpatient department, we're talking about consultations i've -- maybe 30,000. yeah, we are trying hard to provide our people with the necessary medical services as well as the mental health and child protection. we're doing our ultimate effort in order to try hard in order to provide the people, the civilians, to provide them with edible services and other services. -- medical services and other services. we are nonprofit. we are trying hard to create windows on the walls this

catastrophe is trying to build. amy: finally, mohammed abu lebda , we're going to be joined by rachel corrie's parents and the activist who held her hand as she lay dying. this is 21 years ago in rafah. she was crushed to death by an israeli literary will dozer as she tried to prevent the demolition of a palestinian home. you shared with us a picture of rafah in 2003. you were a little boy at the time with the caption "my grandmother with her neighbor and my sister after their home was destroyed by an israeli bulldozer" right around the time rachel was trying to protect homes as a u.s. activist. your thoughts on her significance and how issue remembered in rafah? >> let me say rachel corrie is

being remembered from every single person in gaza, especially of rafah, every single person knows rachel corrie. even the late generation. all of them. allow me to tell you the main reason. actually, rachel corrie became an icon. not only in gaza strip, not only for the palestinian people, but for the rest of the world because she was killed because she was trying to deliver a very important message. it is the most important message in the world, which is peace. for me, this is the main thing we need to focus on in order to

achieve what rachel corrie was dreaming to achieve, which is a peace for palestinians. so what matters for me in rachel corrie's story is she left her home, left her parents and family, and she came to a country that she never visited before. she came into a conflict zone, which is a danger zone. even her idea to come -- actually, i want to say she is remembered here because of the story and the message she tried

to deliver. rachel corrie's story should strengthen us while we are living the horrible situation. we need to remember rachel corrie, her courage to come to a dangerous area. not only that, trying to defend the people, to be the voice of the voiceless people here and stand in front of the ultimate power. she stood trying to defend the people here in gaza. actually, i don't know what act will be greater than rachel corrie's death. i am really grateful for rachel corrie. i want to say people like rachel corrie will never die mohammed

abu lebda, ever. amy: mohammed abu lebda, poet and translator from rafah, thank you so much. your words are being heard around the world, and by her parents, who are going to be joining us next. i'm looking at your gofundme page, which quotes another poet. but what the hottest places in hell are reserved for those in great moral crisis retainer neutrality." thank you for talking to us today on democracy now! mohammed abu lebda. next up, we continue to remember rachel corrie, killed 21 years ago march 16, 2000 three, when she was crushed to death by an israeli military bulldozer as she tried to prevent the demolition of the home of the

palestinian premises. it was three days before the u.s. invaded iraq. back in 20 seconds. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. saturday marked the 21st anniversary of the death of u.s.

peace activist rachel corrie. she was crushed to death by an israeli military bulldozer in rafah on march 16, 2003, a few days before the u.s. attacked iraq. rachel was 23 years old. she was an evergreen student from olympia, washington. she went to gaza with the international solidarity movement, which formed after israel and the united states rejected a proposal by then-united nations high commissioner for human rights mary robinson to place international human rights monitors in the occupied palestinian territories. rachel corrie was crushed to death by a u.s. caterpillar bulldozer that was run by the israeli military. she had been trying to prevent the demolition of the home of a palestinian pharmacist in rafah you're the border with egypt. eyewitnesses say she was in full view of the bulldozer's driver.

in june 2003, the israeli military concluded her death was "an accident." human rights groups criticized the israeli's army investigation as sham. a year later, colonel lawrence wilkerson, former secretary of state colin powell's chief of staff, told rachel's parents he did not consider the israeli investigation to be "credible, thorough, and transparent." rachel's parents initiated lawsuits against israel, the israeli military, and the caterpillar corporation, but a u.s. federal appeals court ruled they could not sue the company because that would force the judiciary to rule on a foreign policy issue decided by the white house. in its ruling, the three-judge panel said the case could not go to court without implicitly questioning, and even condemning, u.s. foreign policy towards israel. in 2015, the israeli supreme court rejected an appeal from rachel corrie's parents after they had sued the israeli ministry of defense for a

symbolic $1 in damages and upheld a lower court's ruling that cleared the military of responsibility saying rachel's death had taken place in a "war zone." in a minute, we'll be joined by rachel's parents and one of her colleagues with the international solidarity movement. but first, this is rachel corrie in her own words from a documentary about her by concord media called "death of an idealist." >> i have been here for about a month and a half now. this is definitely the most difficult situation i have ever seen. in the time i have been here, children have been shot and killed. on the 30th of january, the israeli military bulldoze the two largest water wells, destroying over half of rafah's

water supply. every few days, if not every day, houses are demolished here. amy: for more, we're joined in washington, by rachel's parents cindy and craig corrie. after she was killed, they devoted their lives to what rachel corrie lived and died for an founded the nonprofit rachel corrie foundation for peace and justice. cindy is the foundation's president and craig is the treasurer. they have also gone on interfaith peace missions to israel, gaza, and the west bank. also with this in london is tom dale a writer who has worked in , civilian protection, conflict analysis, and journalism in the middle east. his new piece for jacobin is titled "rachel corrie gave her life for palestine." in 20022003, he volunteered in rafah with the international solidarity movement alongside rachel. on march 16, 2003, a little after 5:00 p.m. in rafah, he

witnessed this u.s.-made bulldozer run over rachel. he held her hands as she lay dying on a gurney in the ambulance taking her to the hospital. welcome to all of you. i want to begin with tom. describe that day what motivated you both and what motivated rachel to stand there in front of this bulldozer with that fluorescent vest on as it came forward and crushed her. >> to give some context and background, the international solidarity movement in rafah at that time were mostly concerned to protest against and oppose the demolition of homes that were being carried out on the border with rafah and egypt. there was no allegation in the overwhelming of these homes were being demolished due to anything the people who lived in them had done. they were being demolished simply because israel had

decided soldiers wanted a tactical advantage and that involved clearing a 300 meter strip of family homes. the overwhelming majority of which were refugees. now, at the particular time rachel was killed, a bulldozer turned toward one of those homes come the home of dr. samir. he and his family were friends with rachel. she had lived with them. she placed herself in between the bulldozer and the home. as we have done 70 times before. indeed, we had done earlier that day. what we have learned over the course of several months is the bulldozer drivers were able to see us. were able to recognize what would be too far. and they were able to stop or withdraw at appropriate moment.

but in this case, the bulldozer driver just kept on going. rachel was sort of force to climb up on a mound of earth in front of the bulldozer. i think you heard earlier cindy quoted saying her head was above the top of the bulldozer blade. that is absolutely accurate. it is almost divisive -- as if the bulldozer driver could have looked her in the eye. she lost her footing and she was sucked down into the earth and terribly, horrifically died. at that point i read to call for an ambulance. i learned dr. singer had seen the incident and had called the ambulance. we had for living with the families. -- we had been living with the families. it was an expression of a deep commission to the principal of

shared humanity. rachel took on the cause of those families as if that because was her own. she made that because her own. that is what motivated us to take that stand. amy: you quote rachel's diary. it is absolutely amazing. she wrote this before her death and she said she had a dream. do you have it in front of you? or i will read it. >> please, read it. amy: rachel wrote "she dreamed she was falling to my death off of something dusty and smooth and crumbling like the cliffs in utah but it kept holding on with each new foothold or rock pro, reached out as i fell and grabbed a new one. i did not have time to think about anything, just react. i heard i can't die, i can't die again and again in my head."

if you can talk about what it means to hear mohamed right now talking about how rachel is remembered, tom, and what happened to you as you would in the ambulance with her to the hospital? >> yeah, that is correct. regrettably, by the time we got to the hospital, rachel was dead. i was studying her hands on her abdomen. it was a terrible moment. we were all distraught. we cared for her greatly. she was one of us. then immediately, we were pushed into the cycle of responding to the series of bizarre lies being told by the israeli defense forces. in terms of what it means to

hear mohammed say that right now, i am very grateful -- it means a lot given the situation mohammed and his family and all of rafah are in now that he even has a thought for someone who was standing there 20 years ago is really remarkable. it speaks to the power of rachel's message. i really hope we can repay that in the international community. use this as an opportunity to direct attention back to rafah, direct energy back toward putting the pressure on politically rafah to protect rafah and gaza in general from a future onslaught. amy: i want to bring in rachel's parents cindy and craig corrie speaking from olympia, washington. that is where rachel would to college. i think i met both of you for the first time back in 2003. i just happen to be giving the

graduation address at evergreen college that year. it was the largest graduation class ever. but it was missing one student who was supposed to be graduating and it was your daughter rachel. cindy, you gave an address to the graduating class as well. 21 years later, i offer my condolences again to you. i am wondering your thoughts as you listen to mohammed on the ground in rafah talking about your daughter and what she is meant for the people of rafah, gaza, and beyond? >> thank you, amy. i had a bit of difficulty hearing mohammed but what i know from our experience this past 21 years is that for palestinians everywhere, rachel story has been very important. they tell us over and over again

how much it meant that someone from libya, washington, that had no reason to be in gaza except that she had learned about the situation and knew they were greatly in need, that she came to them and that she do it to try to prevent the demolition -- the many demolitions of palestinian homes that were happening at the time. and rachel connected with the community. that was important to her. she worked with women's groups, with children's groups. not only were homes threatened, but wells were threatened. she slept at the well with other activists. tom and others from the u.k., u.s., and people from other countries during the early time that she was in gaza. were often approached by younger

people who have heard the story. some that were children at the time. they tell us a change the course of the direction of their lives that they then felt were meaningful things that they needed to look for, meaningful ways to contribute in this world. amy: craig, your thoughts as well? 21 years later with rafah once again in the news, with president biden saying an israel i invasion of rafah is a redline but not saying there would be consequences if the israeli military went over that line? >> yes, as i was listening today, i was thinking for me and other members of the family, we were using rachel's memory of

what she was doing as a portal for people to understand -- for the united states to understand what was going on in gaza, partially the horror going on now. i think at this point, we have to be looking directly at the palestinians and hearing their voices. there has never been a redline that any american president -- well, that is not quite true. recently enforced against israel. to me, as long as israel is coveting the lands in the homes of palestinian people, there will not be peace in israel and palestine. and neither the israeli people nor the palestinian people will be safe. i think really the difference between rachel, tom, the rest of

the sim, the difference between them and the rest of us, they refused to look away when all of this was going on. and the rest of the world did look away. amy: one of the ways rachel's words have been preserved was because that alan rickman. craig, i just read a piece you wrote after the actor and director alan rickman died, he wrote it in "the guardian" and you talked about what a difference he made in making those words into that play "my name is rachel corrie" based on her diaries and her emails. i am looking at a piece six weeks before opening night, the theater and asked was indefinitely postponing the production, move widely criticized as in act of censorship, finally opened in october 2006.

if either of you could comment on the canceling of people in this country and around the world now who expressed concern about what is happening in gaza and also talk about your trip to meet with the palestinian pharmacist family whose home rachel was protecting? >> that is a lot to talk about. i will start about the play. i guess in that article, what i thought of is what people won't understand about the play is it is actually funny. he manage to get rachel sense of humor. he edited those words. we are grateful to both but he managed to get rachel's humor into the play. and i think that brought her personality.

i am grateful for ever for that. the play has been seen on every continent in the world except antarctica. cindy and i have seen it and maybe six countries in seven different languages. it was delayed in opening in the u.s., but it had two runs in great britain and london before that. and it did eventually open in new york city. and since then, it has been all over the united states. actually, there is going to be a reading and a few days. i will let cindy talk more about the other. >> we visited the ness role of family in september 2003. it was our first trip to the region. it was very important for craig and me to see the place where rachel had stayed in were her

life ended. we traveled to rafah with the help of our palestinian friends. we were taken the very first day that we were there to the area where the nasrallah home still stood. it was the only home left in the entire area. what i remember saying and feeling at the time was that house is sitting in a sea of rubble because the israeli military was destroying homes there. later, human rights watch said that happened in the absence of military necessity. over 16,000 people i think from 2000-2004 lost their homes at the time. that day we set on the floor of

the nasrallah home and ate a wonderful meal with the family and they're very young children at the time. we were taken to the spot byabu kareem showing us where rachel was killed. it was a very emotional day. we hugged. we saw the rooms in the house where rachel had spent time with the children and the family. they pulled out their arabic english dictionary from the shelf and told me how rachel was so much better at it than i was. we saw also the space of the parents bed that was at the backside of the house where rachel would sleep she said in a

puddle of blankets with the children because military people and machines would drive through the border area at night and shoot into the houses. and there were bullet holes marking the entire home. amy: we just have 30 seconds and i want to get your final comment, either cindy or craig, on what is happening today. >> that family did everything they could to hold onto that house. they were eventually forced out of the house and somewhat to seven other houses. now here they want out of gaza. after 21 years of trying to hold onto their lives and their future in their past in gaza, like so many people, they want to survive and they want out. i can't imagine what drives them to do that but that is the situation. amy: i want to thank you both

for being with us. again, craig and cindy corrie, speaking to us from olympia, washington. and tom dale. we will link to your piece "rachel corrie gave her life for palestine." that does it for our show. [captioning made possible by democracy now!]