RACHEL CORRIE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY MEMORIAL EVENT

From the Middle East to Africa: Dynamics of Destruction and Rebuilding

A forum, "How Do We Live Together? From the Middle East to Africa: Dynamics of Destruction and Rebuilding," will commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie, local resident and Evergreen student killed by an American-made bulldozer in Rafah, Palestine, as she stood to defend a home from demolition. The event on Sunday, March 16th, is from 3-6 p.m. at the Olympia Ballroom, 116 Legion Way SE, in Olympia and will feature three speakers with connections to Palestine and Central and East Africa. Adrien Niyongabo, of mixed Hutu and Tutsi parentage, was threatened with death by both tribes but now works on truth-telling, healing, and reconciliation. Jen Marlowe, author of Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival has recently returned from Gaza and is writing a book and play based on the experiences of her friends in Palestine and Israel. Dr. Steve Niva teaches International Politics and Middle East Studies at The Evergreen State College and has written on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict for numerous publications, including Peace Review and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Niyongabo, Marlowe, and Niva will speak to the dynamics of destruction and rebuilding in the Middle East and Africa and to the continuing relevance of Rachel Corrie's life and message.

The free event is sponsored by the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice and the Olympia Friends Meeting (Quakers). Donations to support the work of the Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities program of the African Great Lakes Initiative and the work of the Rachel Corrie Foundation will be accepted. For information, call 754-3998.

[via omjp]

The Rachel Corrie Foundation invites all who are concerned about the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip to participate in the two vigils this week sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Some signs will be provided and participants are also encouraged to bring their own. Some suggested signs: The People of Gaza are Under Attack, End the Siege of Gaza, Stop War Crimes Against Palestinians, Our Brothers and Sisters in Rafah are Dying.

Wednesday Vigil
12:00 to 1:00pm
Sylvester Park

Friday Vigil
4:30 to 5:30pm
Percival Landing

About the crisis:

Over the weekend Israel turned off the Gaza Power Plant which supplies power to the 1.5 million residents of the crowded Gaza Strip. Today they turned it back on, but there continues to be a dire shortage of fuel due to the blockade enforced by Israel. In addition, forty residents of Gaza have been killed in the last week.

[via omjp]

The Olympia-Rafah Mural Art Project presents...
Up Against the Wall—from Palestine to Mexico

Friday, January 25th, St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 7 p.m.

Carlos Marentes of Comité Pro-Amnistía General y Justicia Social in Seattle and Susan Greene of Break the Silence Mural Project in the Bay Area will present Up Against the Wall—from Palestine to Mexico, Friday, January 25th, 7 p.m., in the Parish Hall at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 114 20th Ave SE in Olympia.

[via omjp]

With Guest Mural Artists: Susan Greene and Lisa Nessan
The Olympia Center, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 26th, The Olympia-Rafah Mural Project presents a full day of workshops led by a team of artists and community members for Olympia residents and artists. Workshops will focus on developing themes and design ideas for a mural to be painted in downtown Olympia later this year honoring connections between Olympia and the town of Rafah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The mural will be an expression of a people’s recognition of the Olympia-Rafah Sister City connection. It will honor that relationship and, also, the common struggles for justice and the hidden histories that impact members of this community. Saturday’s workshops will be from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW, in downtown Olympia. A light lunch will be provided.