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Corrie's death hits home in Ashland By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings As the drums of war in far-off Iraq threaten to drown out news from elsewhere in the region, the news of the death of 23-year-old activist Rachel Corrie lives on in Ashland. Ashland residents Bonnie Brodersen and Gene Robbins are Corrie's aunt and uncle. For the past six weeks, Corrie's e-mails and frequent Internet postings to pro-Palestinian Web sites bridged the thousands of miles separating this quiet town from the refugee camp in Rafah, where a handful of activists sought to stop Israeli incursions by placing their bodies in harm's way, near residences, and sources of water. While Brodersen and Robbins acknowledge that they did not enjoy a close relationship with Corrie, her frequent and eloquent e-mails helped convey a sense of her struggle. "We've been following her e-mails," Robbins said. "More and more, she's been in our thoughts, especially for the past few months." Corrie - who hailed from Olympia, Wash. and was a student at nearby Evergreen State College - was killed over the weekend when she sought to stop an Israeli bulldozer from plowing into a Palestinian home in a Rafah-based refugee camp. Controversy still swirls over whether her death could have been avoided, and whether the Israeli driver saw her before she was crushed beneath the vehicle's treads. The Israeli military maintains that Corrie's death was an accident. Corrie's parents, Craig and Cynthia Corrie (Brodersen's sister) of Charlotte, N.C., have called on Israel to "cease harassment" of protesters like their daughter. They have been joined by Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.) who is calling for an independent investigation of the incident by U.S. authorities. Corrie had been active in Olympia's peace movement, and joined the International Solidarity Movement - a Palestinian-led group that employs nonviolent methods to challenge Israeli occupation. A Feb. 28 letter from Corrie offers a sense of her embattled surroundings: "You can always hear the tanks and bulldozers passing by, but all of these people are genuinely cheerful with each other, and with me. When I am with Palestinian friends I tend to be somewhat less horrified than when I am trying to act in a role of human rights observer, documenter, or direct-action resister," Corrie wrote. "They are a good example of how to be in it for the long haul. I know that the situation gets to them - and may ultimately get them - on all kinds of levels, but I am nevertheless amazed at their strength in being able to defend such a large degree of their humanity - laughter, generosity, family-time - against the incredible horror occurring in their lives and against the constant presence of death." "What I didn't realize was that Rafah was such a hotbed," Brodersen said. "We stay abreast of the Israel-Palestine situation, but we don't dwell all day on what's going on in Gaza," Robbins said. Both Robbins and Brodersen are involved in setting up a foundation in Corrie's name. "We worked on that today, and we're hoping to get the foundation set up. We were trying to get information about how to set up a foundation �" Brodersen said. "Rachel's family will decide the parameters of the foundation, but it will be something to promote peace." Robbins, a dentist, said he immersed himself in work when he learned of his niece's death. "I worked for the past two days, and when I was working, it was totally out of my mind. It took a day for it to hit me. But my feelings and sentiments are one thing. For Rachel's parents, it was extremely devastating," Robbins said. Brodersen, a homemaker, said she and her sister have been in constant contact. "We've been passing back information about vigils, the foundation and so on. They have been inundated with e-mails and phone calls from around the world � They're totally exhausted," Brodersen said. Brodersen and Robbins' daughter Emily Robbins is a 2002 graduate of Ashland High School. The couple submitted a letter to Ashland school officials, because some students may know or remember Emily, Rachel's cousin. The couple wrote they hoped Corrie's example will help to "put a face on a peaceful activist who died." "Your students can know that Rachel was not a fanatic, but was a college student who cared passionately about social justice, and dignity for all people - and in her calm, thoughtful manner, her love of literature, and her ability to write very expressively, she was much like (our daughter) Emily." In the letter, Emily contributed the following lines: "Rachel felt passionate about peace and human rights. So many people go through life never finding their passion, but Rachel died doing something she truly believed in. How many people can say that?" 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