On April 17 of this year the small and modest Palestinian village of Bi’lin (located 7 km West of the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank) lost one of its most loved and well-known members.  Bassem Ibrahim Abu Rahmah was 30 years old when he was shot in the chest with a tear gas canister by an Israeli soldier.

At first glance these four Windermere Secondary School students look like regular teenagers.  They smile at me with braces and shine with that sense of anxious joy and anticipation that is usually only recognized by those who have passed from youth into older age. 

‘Under Nineteens’ take on grown-up social issues

"We'll have to work ... the dark side, if you will. We've got to spend time in the shadows ... A lot of what needs to be done here will have to be done quietly, without any discussion ... it's going to be vital for us to use any means at our disposal basically, to achieve our objectives."

These were the words of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, during a Meet the Press interview with Tim Russert five days after the September 11 attacks of 2001.

Dr. Dahlia Wasfi was born to a Jewish-American mother and a Muslim-Iraqi father. She has been educating people from all over the world about America's brutal occupation since visiting her family in Basrah and Baghdad in 2006.

One source of Dr. Wasfi's determination is the inspirational story of Rachel Corrie, whom she calls an "American Hero." Four days after Corrie's murder by the Israeli military America invaded Iraq under several false pretenses, including the claim that they would bring 'freedom' to the Iraqi people and protect the U.S. from the threat of nuclear weapons that Iraq never possessed.