On March 16, 2013, the tenth anniversary of American peace activist Rachel Corrie’s death was marked by no grand commemoration ceremonies. The Nasrallah family, however, as they do every year, went to where their demolished house once stood to place flowers at the scene of her murder. Even though the neighborhood has changed and the tunnel area at the Egypt and Gaza borders has been completely transformed, the Nasrallahs cannot forget.  

Al-Monitor met with the Nasrallahs in their small and humble rented house. They shared their memories from that year, as clearly as if it all happened yesterday and not a decade ago.

Samir Nasrallah talked of how members from the International Solidarity Movement were staying with the family to protect them and prevent Israeli bulldozers from storming the neighborhood and demolishing their house. At the time, one of the family friends mentioned Corrie to Samir and informed him that she was willing to stay to support them. So they hosted her.

Samir’s wife, Itimad, told Al-Monitor, “Rachel stayed with us for two weeks prior to her death. She spent the majority of the time with me, since my husband was at work and my children were at school. We stayed at home, watching the bulldozers nearby through small holes in the sheets covering the window. She often insisted on helping me prepare food.”