I watched Zoe’s funeral of 300 people sitting underneath the eucalyptus with the Toowoomba breeze and pink lorikeets flying above them. Zoe who was also called Sparrow during times of covert political action brought to mind another life in fiction, Jane Eyre, and how she responded to this world:
Jane said: “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will”.
When asked by her benefactor how she intended to ‘avoid God’s wrath’ for being so free, Jane replied simply: ‘I must keep in good health, and not die.‘
Too sad.
Zoe was able to do the former but not the latter.
To paraphrase one of her comrades at KP Prison:
“May her friends, family and comrades keep in good health and fight the nets ensnaring this world.”
Here’s the link of the live stream of Zoe’s memorial service, starting on Friday, 22 September 2023.
Ian Curr
24 Sept 2023
A filmmaker from the KP blockade, Jemma, put together this beautiful tribute to Zoe and her resistance. [Thanks E.]