Who Are Las Damas de Blanco?

Las Damas de Blanco are a group of courageous women who bravely fly in the face of the castro dictatorship in order to peacefully protest the arrest and imprisonment of their husbands, sons, brothers and nephews.   In response to the "Black Spring" round-up of 2003 when the regime arrested and later sentenced some seventy independent journalists and dissidents in the wee hours of March 18th, the Damas have demanded the release of these prisoners of conscience, garnering international attention. These women are linked together by the pain and suffering they have endured while their loved ones have been unjustly jailed.  Dressed in white, on Sundays they can be found walking to Saint Rita's church on the outskirts of Habana, in Miramar. There, after Mass, they gather silently, carrying pictures of their jailed family members.

In spite of blackmail attempts and threats by the regime, these stoic women stand their ground and continue to make their cause known. These men suffer in prison for simply dissenting with castro's regime or trying to report the reality in Cuba, and in addition to having lost what little freedom they had as Cuban citiziens, they are also suffering from sub-human conditions in the jails, lack of hygiene, a scarcity of food, crowded cells, abuses and lack of sufficient medical attention. A sample of what illnesses these prisoners are suffering from: TB, Glaucoma, emphysema, high blood pressure and cirrhosis, to name a few. Most of these prisoners are allowed visits every three months. Don't believe the castro regime would treat its prisoners like this?  Remember, this is also the same regime, the only one in Latin America, that won't allow the Red Cross access to its jails, either.

One of these brave Damas de Blanco is Julia Núñez, whose husband, Adolfo Fernández Saínz, is serving a fifteen year sentence in Holguín, over 400 miles from their home in La Habana. An independent journalist, he was jailed for reporting for newspapers outside of Cuba. Julia must wait in line to buy the bus ticket 20 days before she goes to visit, with other people taking turns with her to save her place in line. Her visits are scheduled so she can't just decide to visit her husband for Christmas, an important holiday for them, both Catholics. So, she spends Christmas without her husband, while he languishes in a filthy pirson cell, hundreds of miles from their home. Her participation in Las Damas de Blanco is a testament to her faith and she, along with the other Damas, continue to make their voices heard so that the men they love dearly will be released soon.

If you would like to let Julia know you support her strength and bravery, you can write to her:

Señora Julia Nuñez

Calle Belascoaín # 465 Apt. 19, 6to Piso, entre Zanja y Salud, Municipio Centro Habana, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba

Las Damas de Blanco are a group of courageous women who bravely fly in the face of the castro dictatorship in order to peacefully protest the arrest and imprisonment of their husbands, sons, brothers and nephews.   In response to the "Black Spring" round-up of 2003 when the regime arrested and later sentenced some seventy independent journalists and dissidents in the wee hours of March 18th, the Damas have demanded the release of these prisoners of conscience, garnering international attention. These women are linked together by the pain and suffering they have endured while their loved ones have been unjustly jailed.  Dressed in white, on Sundays they can be found walking to Saint Rita's church on the outskirts of Habana, in Miramar. There, after Mass, they gather silently, carrying pictures of their jailed family members.

In spite of blackmail attempts and threats by the regime, these stoic women stand their ground and continue to make their cause known. These men suffer in prison for simply dissenting with castro's regime or trying to report the reality in Cuba, and in addition to having lost what little freedom they had as Cuban citiziens, they are also suffering from sub-human conditions in the jails, lack of hygiene, a scarcity of food, crowded cells, abuses and lack of sufficient medical attention. A sample of what illnesses these prisoners are suffering from: TB, Glaucoma, emphysema, high blood pressure and cirrhosis, to name a few. Most of these prisoners are allowed visits every three months. Don't believe the castro regime would treat its prisoners like this?  Remember, this is also the same regime, the only one in Latin America, that won't allow the Red Cross access to its jails, either.

One of these brave Damas de Blanco is Julia Núñez, whose husband, Adolfo Fernández Saínz, is serving a fifteen year sentence in Holguín, over 400 miles from their home in La Habana. An independent journalist, he was jailed for reporting for newspapers outside of Cuba. Julia must wait in line to buy the bus ticket 20 days before she goes to visit, with other people taking turns with her to save her place in line. Her visits are scheduled so she can't just decide to visit her husband for Christmas, an important holiday for them, both Catholics. So, she spends Christmas without her husband, while he languishes in a filthy pirson cell, hundreds of miles from their home. Her participation in Las Damas de Blanco is a testament to her faith and she, along with the other Damas, continue to make their voices heard so that the men they love dearly will be released soon.

If you would like to let Julia know you support her strength and bravery, you can write to her:

Señora Julia Nuñez

Calle Belascoaín # 465 Apt. 19, 6to Piso, entre Zanja y Salud, Municipio Centro Habana, Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba