Carol Foster grew up in a working class Jewish family just after the war. As with almost every person of Jewish descent, Carol and her family bore the scars of the Holocaust, and had lost several members to that genocide. Carol Foster is not even her original name, but a name adopted for safety. When attending school Carol's fellow pupils would ask her questions like “were you born with a tale?” Such were the myths that surrounded Jewish people in those days.
Carol enjoyed the 1960s very much. You know what they say, “if you remember the 1960s you weren't there” and she admitted her own memories were hazy. But one thing that did make a lasting impression on her was her first trip to Israel.
It was here that Carol for the first time witnessed the plight and the treatment of the Palestinian people, and it changed her forever. Carol returned from her trip an avowed anti-Zionist and an advocate for Palestinian liberation.
Throughout her life Carol was very politically active in left wing circles. She got a job with the London Underground which she was proud of and which she was very good at. Even after retirement, if you were taking a trip on the Underground there was no need to look up timetables or ask station staff for the best route if you were taking a trip on the subway. Carol had the knowledge and it stayed with her. Carol was also proud of her membership of the RMT Union and remained active in the union after her retirement.
In the 1980s Carol became very active in the protests against Apartheid in South Africa. It was her attendance in many rowdy anti-Apartheid protests in London that led to Carol getting in trouble with the cops, and often resulted in Carol getting arrested. In those days an arrest would often be for the purpose of clearing you from a protest area, so Carol would be arrested, driven to a different part of London and then released. Carol told us that she was arrested 48 times!
I met Carol in 2015. By that time she was already retired, and we were both members of the Football Against Apartheid organisation, and we campaigned for the expulsion of Israel from FIFA. Many is the time when we would demonstrate outside football grounds with our Football Against Apartheid banners, talking to fans, handing out leaflets and experiencing the good and the bad reactions to our advocacy.
Carol was a campaigner for environmental as well as social justice, and when the Extinction Rebellion began in 2018, Carol and I supported this movement, appreciating the energy and vibrancy of this new phenomenon as it took London by storm. It was her support for XR that led to Carol being arrested for a 49th time!
I stopped having as much contact with Carol when I moved back to the Midlands in 2021, but we would still unite for Football Against Apartheid on occasion, either in London or in the Midlands. And Carol would still wish me a good morning on WhatsApp every day. Carol got up very early!
Then, just after Christmas, Carol's good mornings stopped. I instantly knew something was wrong. I sent her a casual message about football (a subtle way of checking up on her. Carol was a Manchester United fan, though her brother supports Villa). I got a reply from her which was reassuring for the moment.
However the next day Carol called me from hospital. She had been taken seriously ill. Even in her condition, Carol still had plenty of Chutzpah, complaining about the hospital staff and telling me she was receiving many visitors, something which cheered up Carol and myself.
But then came yesterday, and the news that Carol had left us. So now another dear friend has moved on from this life, and it is for us to continue Carol's striving for justice, always remembering her clear sense of right and wrong.
Rest in Power Cazdawg, we love you. Free Palestine.
