“We hold fast to our faith and we will continue to fight.”

Every Sunday in Cuba, the Damas de Blanco, or ‘Ladies in White’, peacefully protest the unjust imprisonment of people who speak up for human rights. Dressed in white to symbolise peace, they attend Mass, then walk silently through the streets of their town or city. They break no laws, they commit no crime.

And for this they are arrested, harassed and beaten. One member, Caridad Caballero, had to flee Cuba in 2012 for fear of her life.

How many weeks would you endure it?

The Ladies in White movement was founded in 2003 following Cuba’s Black Spring, a mass crackdown on dissidents and journalists. 75 people were imprisoned. Though the original 75 have since been released, they have been replaced hundreds of times over by other political prisoners.

The Ladies in White have been faithfully protesting for over a decade, as Cuba’s human rights record continues to worsen.

They pay for their silent protest in beatings and detentions. Often, the police try to stop the Ladies from attending Mass by arresting them as they leave their homes, and releasing them once the service has finished. During the Pope’s recent visit, Berta Soler, the leader of the Ladies in White, tried to attend the public Mass the Pope said at the Plaza de la Revolucion. Police dragged her away by her hair and neck. Her hands were later hurt as punishment for daring to attend the Mass.

And yet, the Ladies in White continue. Over 500 women were arrested in November 2015 alone, with the average number of arrests last year totaling about 200 a month. It’s only going to get worse.

How many arrests would it take until you gave up?

Caridad Caballero is a member of the Ladies in White, and a journalist and activist. She told us,

“The government tries to impede us but we must continue down this path, the path of freedom. Christ came to give freedom to all. Just because we hold different beliefs to those who govern our country, they try to block us, to stop us from worshipping at our church. We hold fast to our faith and we will continue to fight.”

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