Laura Pollan, the leader of Las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White, was an everyday school teacher turned brave activist by the oppressive Cuban government’s attack on her family. In the black spring of 2003, her life was derailed when her husband was arrested as a prisoner of conscience and sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment in the horrible conditions of Cuban prison. Instead of quietly accepting both her husband’s fate and her own like the Cuban government expected her to, this inspiring woman started a movement to bring attention to the wrongfully imprisoned.
As a peaceful protest and in remembrance of their loved ones, Las Damas de Blanco march to a church in Havana, each one dressed in white and carrying a flower. Despite the peacefulness with which the ladies’ actions are carried out, they are still attacked by the Cuban government for them. In fact, they are persecuted daily, both relentlessly intimidated and even physically beaten. Pollan in particular was a target for this aggression.
On October 7th, Laura was admitted to a hospital in Havana, with serious health complications. Instead of being moved to a better facility, she demanded to “Stay in the hospital of the people.” She died of dengue fever seven days later, and will be greatly missed and loved by not only those close to her, but the many people she inspired with her determination and strength.
Before reading this article, I did know quite a bit about Las Damas de Blanco. What really struck me that never had before, however, was that these women reacted exactly the opposite of how they were expected to. As Yoani Sanchez, the author of this article, points out, the Cuban government expected that the force of their intimidation would silence these women, making them afraid to bring further harm upon themselves and those close to them. However, they did the exact opposite, a testament to how brave these women truly are. They did not believe their actions would have no repercussions; they expected to be personally attacked from the very beginning.
Another point that was made by Sanchez in the article also caught my attention. Las Damas de Blanco gained so much attention from the beginning because of the way they chose to make a statement. Instead of connecting themselves to a particular political party, they focused on bringing attention to what was happening to their loved ones and all other prisoners of conscience. By doing this, they reduced the amount of opposition they would have had if they had exclusively prescribed to a political party, and managed to gain that much more sympathy and therefore support for their cause.
Laura Pollán will go down in Cuban history as one of the bravest freedom fighters on the island. Her legacy lives on in Las Damas de Blanco, and as their work continues, I believe we can anticipate continued repression and actos de repudio against them.
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