“The principal of my daughter’s school is a member of the Communist Party,” she explains. “Government agents go to the school and tell the principal to punish my daughter and get other kids to alienate her. When I go to a protest, I have to lock my daughter in the house—she is scared and I am scared for her.”
The government even restricts them from having a normal job or even from buying materials to repair their homes, which the government destroyed. The Ladies in White suffer oppression and exclusion and get punished for crimes they didn’t commit and prevent them from getting a fair trial.
They hope that Obama’s visit will help strengthen the U.S.-Cuba relationship and he’s expected to push the government to reassess to freedom of speech and dissent. He is also expected to meet with human rights activists, including members of the Ladies in White, which may be a difficult task since about 50 were arrested as they protested Sunday. They’re optimistic about Obama’s visit, but they’re afraid of the repercussions.