Posted by Esperanza from host-69-19-139-55.rev.o1.com (69.19.139.55) on Thursday, March 20, 2003 at 10:31AM :
http://www.devo.com/mideastlog/?cat=1
I got the email at 11am today.
rachel was young, incredibly barve and determined. she was the one that wanted to run out that night during the fighting to save the mosque. i balked. i didnt think it was wise. i sort of knew it was her who was the one run down as i opened my mail.
this of course wouldnt be news if it were yet another palestinian killed in rafah. the toll is over 300 just for that little town, with over 80 children. rachel is among those numbers now. but she would have wanted the focus to remain on the children who live with this everyday.
attention will be brief, and brushed aside to be sure. the israelis will claim it an accident and insult the Internationals for having been in the way. of course the Israelis dont have to explain themselves when they bulldoze homes with families inside without warning.
i most think of the locals who were so incredibly amazed that Americans would come and risk their lives to save the homes of these poor, forgotten people. they will be shedding the most tears undoubtably. but they do that on a daily basis too.
americans will pass it over and cheer on the deaths of thousands more. they wont have a clue what war is like and the total idiocy of the consequences.
theyll cheer the explosions and never think of the results, their brains already turned to mush by more vitrolic bluster from their leader.
im not the type normally to get so mauldin over such things. usually im filled with rage instead. but ive never lost someone in conflict before.
i still see her in my video, on a cell phone talking about how to save the homes as gunfire rips through the air. i wish i knew her better from before, but i certainly saw her at her best.
-- Esperanza
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