Laura Pollán, the leader of the Ladies in White, has just died in Cuba in circumstances less than clear. She was a common Cuban, someone who didn’t even consider going political; just too busy with the ordeal of getting the basics of human existence, a very old trick used by communist regimes to make opposition almost impossible to conceive.
By incarcerating her husband to over 20 years of jail in the infamous Black Spring crackdown of 2003, another Laura Pollán was born. That way, almost by accident, the Castro regime woke up a dormant lioness. She was just someone who didn’t accept the reality of living the rest of her life separated from her husband, now a prisoner of conscience. That’s how the pacific movement of the Ladies in White came to fruition. They were the wives, the mothers, the daughters and sisters of the group of 75 prisoners of conscience summarily sentenced to an average of over 20 years of jail.
The repressive apparatus of the Castro regime was simply caught off guard when it came to dealing with these ladies. Throughout half a century of repression, they never faced such an organized group of harmless women, brandishing only flowers and ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the loved ones.
Thanks to the Ladies in White and its international repercussion, the regime was challenged to the point of having to negotiate the release of the group of 75. The intermediation of the Cuban Catholic Church with the Spanish government was just a sideshow used to save face. We know the only reason why the 75 were released and the death of Fariñas could be avoided, was because of the peaceful protests of these women, led by Laura Pollán.
Please join us by adding your name to the list of signatures that will be part of an open book of condolences in Havana. Simply reply to this message and your name will be added.
Yours,
Nelson Taylor Sol.
