DEARBORN – The Lansing-based Michigan Peace Team in partnership with the Palestine Cultural Office held its 2010 signature event entitled “Living Justice: Celebrating the Life & Work of Edward Said and Rachel Corrie” on Friday, November 5 at Greenfield Manor in Dearborn in front of a sold-out crowd honoring the two legendary activists’ dedication to the Palestinian cause.

Cindy Corrie, mother of Rachel Corrie

A large number of prospective ticket buyers were turned away due to high demand for the event, which featured speeches by Said’s sister Grace and Corrie’s mother Cindy.

Olympia, Washington native Cindy Corrie, whose daughter was crushed by a D9-R bulldozer in Gaza while she non-violently protesting the pending demolition of a family’s home by the Israeli military on March 16, 2003, 2003, spoke about her daughter’s legacy and the fight to end the occupation in Palestine.

“On the day she was killed, her fight became ours,” Corrie said. “I have such respect for the Michigan Peace Team in the field of conflict resolution and it’s important to give generously to them and to share the example of the work that they do with the rest of the country.”

The Michigan Peace Team (MPT) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1993 with the goal of raising awareness about humanitarian causes both at home and abroad and empowering people to become active in non-violent intervention. The MPT have had an enduring presence in the West Bank and have trained non-violent activists for working roles there in the face of the illegal settlements and occupation by Israel.

The Palestine Cultural Office, founded in 2004, provides support and a voice for Palestinians and their heritage in the United States and continues to work to raise awareness and to push for a just and peaceful resolution in Palestine.

The late Dr. Edward Said, an internationally-recognized author, prominent intellectual voice and one of America’s most vocal and well-known spokespeople for the Palestinian cause, died in September 2003 of leukemia, but his work lives on, especially in regards to his many popular and well-received books. “The Question of Palestine,” “Orientalism,” “Covering Islam,” and “Blaming the Victims” are among his most famous works, many of which argue that a bias exists by Westerners because of distorted media images and commentary against Palestine, Arabs and Islam.

Grace Said, sister of Edward Said.

“Thank you so much for inviting me today and thanks to all the co-sponsors of the event,” said Grace Said. “Ed spoke about how Rachel Corrie’s heroics and actions symbolized the struggle of the Palestinian people; it’s fitting that he and Rachel would both be honored here tonight.”

Grace Said spoke about the importance of giving the Palestinian people a narrative in everyday American discourse in accordance with Edward Said’s work and also highlighted the importance of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli products until the occupation is ended as did Cindy Corrie later in the evening. A similar movement was effective in bringing about the end of South Africa’s infamous apartheid regime.

Cindy Corrie also updated the audience on the pending civil suit by the family against the Israeli military for a single symbolic dollar in damages over her death.

She said that the trial has seemed to be more about looking for ways to “exonerate the Israeli military” than about getting to the bottom of whether her daughter was intentionally crushed as many in the international community believe. She also said that a lead investigator never went inside the bulldozer that killed Corrie before testifying, just one sign among many that the investigation was flawed from the beginning in her estimation.

She also talked about a time the translator in the court case didn’t know the Hebrew word for “occupation,” which elicited laughs from the courtroom, and about the groups of supporters waiting outside for the Corrie family after each trial hearing in Haifa, Israel to support her during the trial.

The next hearing is scheduled for December 22; updates on the trial can be found at www.rachelcorriefoundation.org/trial.

Cindy Corrie talked about the current situation in regards to continuing the legacies of Rachel Corrie and Edward Said’s work.

“Times may seem a bit dark, but there remains an opportunity,” she said. “We are a community of activists and the people of Gaza and the West Bank need our support; every small step has an impact on the solution.”

For information on the Michigan Peace Team or to donate, visit www.michiganpeaceteam.org. For more information on the Palestine Cultural Office or to donate, visit www.palestineculturaloffice.org.