President Obama arrived in Cuba on Sunday for a historic visit. No other U.S. President has visited the island in 88 years and Cubans are optimistic about his visit. One of the goals of his visit is to lift the 54-year-old U.S. trade embargo. The other is the issue of human rights and hours before his arrival, dissident group, Ladies in White were seen protesting in Havana and later arrested.
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Ladies in White are female relatives of political prisoners. Some are accused of spying for the U.S, condemned for decades in prison. One of the darkest days in Cuba took place approximately 13 years ago on March 13, 2003, also known as “The Black Spring” where about 75 dissidents were imprisoned after being accused of spying for the U.S., since then they’ve been serving sentences of up to 28 years.
The Ladies in White take to the streets to protest as they did hours ahead of Obama’s visit. “In 2013, on the anniversary of the Black Spring, my house here in Palma was attacked,” explains Maria to Huck Magazine. “The secret police gave an order to send people to my home, throw rocks and break walls with other weapons,” she continues. They locked themselves in their homes, fearing for their lives and of their children.
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“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.