Laura Pollán lives! Laura Pollán Toledo, Present!

In Havana, Cuba on Sunday over 100 activists marched through the streets and chanted Laura Pollán lives!

Berta Soler (left) Hector Maseda (center) marching on Sunday October 16

On the same weekend that the United States dedicated a national monument to the nonviolent resistance activist Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Cubans held a wake for Laura Pollán. King was a Baptist Minister and Laura a school teacher but they both shared the same methodology of struggle, nonviolent civic resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 by an assassin's bullet at the young age of 39. Laura Pollán died on October 14, 2011 of an illness that some believe may have been administered by the state security apparatus. She was 63 years old. Both foresaw the possibility that they could be killed and both said they were not afraid. The night before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a gunmen he gave his "I've been to the mountaintop speech" and told the audience "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will." Less than a month before she died Laura Pollán in a September 24, 2011 interview said “If what God wants is that we must give our own lives in pursuit of the freedom of our Cuba then so be it.”



In both cases they left behind a movement that would continue after them. In the case of Laura Pollán it was the Ladies in White. The likely new leader of the movement is Bertha Soler. Despite a nationwide operation to round up activists and Ladies in White that wanted to travel to Havana to say farewell to Laura Pollán (denounced by the Irish human rights organization Frontline Defenders), over 100 activists managed to circumvent the crackdown and attend Mass at Santa Rita Church then march through the streets of Cuba.

Led by Laura Pollán's husband, the Ladies in White and dissidents march

Leading the march was Hector Maseda, Laura Pollán's husband and a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, with a photo of his wife on poster board that read "Laura Pollán Toledo, Present!" that he held up for all to see. At the end of the march the demonstrators chanted: Laura Pollán lives!



The news of her passing and the impact she had in Cuba and around the world demonstrates the power and moral legitimacy that her nonviolent struggle generated. She touched so many who are now mourning her passing. A young woman in Argentina who treasures the gladiola that Laura gave her. President Obama paid tribute to Laura Pollán upon her passing as did Mitt Romney, one of the Republican candidates running against him. In Miami a prayer service was held on the same night she passed away and a Mass for the eternal repose of her soul the following night attended by former prisoners of conscience now free thanks to Laura and their wives who had been part of the Ladies in White.

What did Laura Pollán accomplish? She changed Cuba. Despite all the efforts of the totalitarian communist dictatorship that has a monopoly over force and the mass media in Cuba, Laura was able with a small group of courageous women to take to the streets and demonstrate. Not once or twice but on a weekly basis since her husband was unjustly imprisoned in March of 2003. The dictatorship did everything they could to stop them, including brute violence. Bruises and broken bones did not deter these ladies and they continued marching with casts and slings. Over a 100,000 people dressed in white took to the streets in Miami in the spring of 2010 to protest the violence against these women led by Gloria Estefan, who had organized the demonstration. In the summer of 2010 the dictatorship finally began the process of releasing the bulk of the remaining prisoners of conscience from the group of the 75 and the last of them were released in the spring of 2011. Unfortunately, there were new prisoners of conscience whose release the Ladies in White would continue to demand. Laura recognized that "[a]s long as this government is around there will be prisoners because while they've let some go, they've put others in jail. It is a never-ending story." Five days before she became deathly ill, as the violence and threats escalated, she let the dictatorship know that: "We are not going to stop. If they have imprisoned our sisters thinking that we would give up, they are mistaken. We are very united (...) all the women's movements are very close."

As in the case of Martin Luther King Jr., Laura Pollán's spirit lives on and is present in the hearts of all who love freedom and detest injustice. Despite their physical absence tyrants and despots fear the example set by these nonviolent activists in successfully confronting injustice and the absence of freedom.

Mass for the eternal repose of Laura Pollan at La Ermita in Miami

Ladies in White in Miami attend Mass at Ermita for Laura Pollán

A Mass for the eternal repose of Laura Pollán was held at La Ermita de la Caridad on October 15 at 8:00pm. Many of the political prisoners now exiled who, in large part, owe their freedom to the Ladies in White took attended and paid their respects. As did many of the Ladies in White now exiled. Some traveled from long distances to pay their respects. Pictures and videos are posted below.

Poster reads: "United in prayer for Laura Pollán"

Press accounts expressed surprise at the tributes for Laura that are flooding cyberspace from the famous, the powerful and countless every day people whose lives she touched. The Mass at La Ermita was standing room only and along with the Ladies in White, former prisoners of conscience, a US Senator, a former Congressman, and a commandant of the revolution the general public gathered to pray for her immortal soul on a rainy Saturday night dodging heavy downpours.

On Friday, October 14, 2011 at 11pm the first prayer service for the eternal repose of Laura Pollán was held at La Ermita. An video clip excerpt from the service is embedded below. Parishioners were still in a state of shock and and intense sorrow having learned of Laura's passing at 7:50pm that very night.




Early the next day it was announced in both the mass media and social media that a special Mass for the eternal repose of Laura Pollán would be held that same night, Saturday, October 15 at 8pm.

Bishop Agustin Roman

Cardinal Raymond L. Burke in CatholicCulture.org presents in an article "On the Christian Burial of the Dead" why this type of mass for the recently departed is so important:

Praying for the dead is an integral part of our Christian life; it is one of the spiritual works of mercy. Our prayer for the dead both honors their memory and expresses our faithful love as we assist them to be purified of any temporal punishment due to sin and to reach their final destiny and lasting home with God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs us about the importance of prayer for the dead:

From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. (No. 1032)

According to the Cardinal, "There is no more effective means to express our love and provide spiritual help for those who have died than to have the Mass offered for the eternal repose of their souls."

While there exists a political prisoner in Cuba the Ladies in White will be there ask for their liberty." - Laura Pollán


Ladies in White gathered at La Ermita to pay their respects and pray for the immortal soul of Laura Pollán.

Agustin Roman, the retired Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami, and an icon of the Cuban exile community delivered the homily. A video clip excerpt is available below along with a very loose translation which attempts to remain true to what the Monsignor said.



"A person as left us who very much loved liberty. We must agree that Laura was a person who struggled mightily for freedom and she has left but she left us a remembrance, a gift, a seed that she planted: The Ladies in White. Let us pray her and also pray for what she sowed. So that it will continue. Today we pray in a special manner for the freedoms that she sacrificed for. Let us fight for that and pray for that." [...]

Peace is founded on four pillars: The first is the truth. There cannot be peace where there is not truth. There cannot be peace where there is not justice. There cannot be peace where there is not love. Hate can never achieve peace. There cannot be peace where there is not freedom. If one of these four pillars is absent said Pope John XXIII peace collapses. To rebuild peace requires rebuilding the four pillars. Undoubtably that is what the Ladies in White have done. They have done it nonviolently.


Following the Mass former prisoners of conscience and Ladies in White gathered to remember and exchange anecdotes of their time with Laura Pollán.

Former prisoner of conscience Carmelo Díaz Fernández

Former prisoner of conscience Fidel Suarez Cruz

Two Ladies in White conversing with Antonio Diaz Sanchez (his back to the camera)

Former prisoners of conscience Roberto de Miranda and Normando Hernandez

Laura Inés Pollán Toledo: From school teacher to nonviolent human rights icon

“Complete civil disobedience is rebellion without the element of violence in it.” – Mohandas Gandhi

Laura Pollan’s own words demonstrate the evolution and transformation of this Cuban woman from an apolitical school teacher seeking the freedom of her long time lover to a human rights defender seeking the freedom of her husband and all Cubans. Over the space of eight years confronting all that the Cuban dictatorship could hurl at her and the rest of Ladies in White she and the other women were transformed. She married her longtime partner, Hector Maseda, in the "re-education" offices of La Pendiente prison in central Santa Clara province in December 2004 while he was serving his unjust 20 year prison sentence. The dictatorship's strategy has is to break up the families of the political prisoners in order to increase their isolation. The marriage was both an act of love and defiance. Although she is now no longer physically present, her words live on.



"For the first time I feel the church has made a strong impact. At other times it has been very lukewarm. Now it talks about the dissidents. Whether or not [the bishops] think like them, they support them." (2003)

They tried to silence 75 voices, but now there are more than 75 voices shouting to the world the injustices the government has committed. (2004)

“We ask on this Christmas Day for freedom for our political prisoners and for the Cuban people to have a better future.” (2005)

“It's an extremely sad day for us, because Christmas is a family holiday. Since our husbands are not with us, our families cannot be complete.” (2005)

"We fight for the freedom of our husbands, the union of our families. We love our men." (2005)

“We would never have thought this would go on for so long.” (2006)

Human rights basically have been dead in our country for three years. Physically, I am tired. But I am still fighting, as long as I am alive and my husband is jailed, I am going to keep fighting. – Laura Pollan (2006)

“We are calling for freedom for all political prisoners.” (2006)



"They can either kill us, put us in jail or release them. We will never stop marching no matter what happens." (2010)

"We are going to continue. We are fighting for freedom and human rights.” (September 24, 2011)

"As long as this government is around there will be prisoners because while they've let some go, they've put others in jail. It is a never-ending story." (2011)

“If we must give our own lives in pursuit of the freedom of our Cuba that it be what God wants.” (September 24, 2011)

"We are not going to stop. If you have imprisoned our sisters thinking that we would give up, they are mistaken. We are very united (...) all the women's movements are very close." (October 2, 2011)

The dictatorship in Cuba thought it could break Laura Pollan’s spirit but instead with each new attack and outrage her defiance and awareness of the true nature of the regime only increased. Just eight months ago they gave in and returned her husband to her after eight long years of unjust imprisonment.

Reunited in 2011

They thought with that they could stop Laura and the rest of the Ladies in White. Perhaps that might have worked in April of 2003 but after so many years of seeing the true face of the dictatorship and its oppression of the Cuban people it was too late. Now the Ladies in White who remain to carry on the struggle will rise to the occasion. Never doubt the resolve of a Cuban woman. Today they mourn and tomorrow they continue to march for freedom.

Ladies in White honor guard for Laura Pollan

"We're going to continue our peaceful fight for the liberation of all political prisoners. We'll also continue defending the human rights of the Cuban people." - Bertha Soler

"We plan to march tomorrow on Fifth Avenue like we do every Sunday. It will be a special march for Laura." - Bertha Soler


What of the men who these women defend? They too will be at their side in this nonviolent struggle for change. The man whose imprisonment sparked Laura Pollan to action in deep mourning for his wife called on the Ladies to continue their struggle. Hector Maseda was one of the last to be freed, first because he had refused to go into exile and secondly because he had demanded the false charges under which he had been convicted to be dropped. He had to be forcibly taken out of prison against his will by the prison authorities because they had only granted him parole. He is a stubborn and courageous man.

"You have to keep going as you have until now, with intelligence, not accepting provocations. You have become a dagger in the middle of the heart of the government.” – Hector Maseda

Remembering Laura Pollan and her heroic life

"They can either kill us, put us in jail or release them. We will never stop marching no matter what happens." - Laura Pollan

Laura Inés Pollán Toledo

Laura Inés Pollán Toledo died tonight at 7:50pm from heart failure at the age of 63. One week after she had fallen suddenly ill from a respiratory infection compounded with dengue fever and already existing condition as a diabetic. News wires from around the world: the BBC, AFP, AP, CNN, Reuters, The Washington Post, and The Miami Herald reported on the passing of the founder of the Ladies in White.



Prior to her husband's arrest in March of 2003 she was an apolitical high school literature teacher who loved cats and plants. That all changed when her husband, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, was sentenced to an unjust 20 year prison sentence for his activities as an independent journalist. He had been a nuclear engineer until being demoted in 1992 for ideological errors.

Within days of the March 2003 show trials and the unjust prison sentences the Ladies in White came into existence and Laura Pollan was one of the founders of the movement. Their demands were simple and direct. The freedom of their loved ones. Their methods were nonviolent, strategic, and well thought out. In a 2005 interview Laura Pollan stated their agenda: "We fight for the freedom of our husbands, the union of our families. We love our men."



Tonight the dictatorship has mobilized its state security forces around the country and they are visibly nervous. Women attempting to travel to Havana from the provinces to pay their respects to the former high school literature teacher now turned human rights icon have been arrested reports Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia and Yoani Sanchez.

For the world today and for future generations her life and courageous example are transparent and visible for all to see. It is important for those who may not know this woman and the movement that she led, that will now have to continue without her, that what she and the Ladies in White have accomplished be both remembered and acknowledged. Blogs such as Uncommon Sense, Capitol Hill Cubans and Babalu have already started and others will continue over the days and weeks to come.

Lady in White Laura Pollán

Let us honor this woman who demonstrated since March of 2003 until her death resolute courage in the face of a brutal totalitarian dictatorship. Fortunately, for posterity her words are both written down and recorded and they will live on long after the Castro dictatorship is just a bad memory. At the same time the slanders, libels, assaults and mistreatment that she and other Cuban women have suffered for defending human rights and expressing themselves freely have also been documented.

Laura Pollan reunited with her husband Hector Maseda

It took eight years but in the Spring of 2011 Laura Pollan was able to embrace her husband now free from his unjust captivity. At the same time she continued the struggle for the freedom of the remaining Cuban political prisoners. The Ladies in White succeeded in freeing their loved ones imprisoned in the March 2003 Cuban Black Spring.

Returning to the sad news of the night

According to Yoani Sanchez reports that Laura's wake will take place over the next 2 hours at La Nacional funeral parlor at Infanta and Benjumeda in Central Havana on the 2nd floor in Chapel E. Ladies in White from around the country are trying to reach the capitol to pay their respects. The family has announced they will have a small private funeral and that Laura will be cremated afterwards. The picture below taken late last night was of the honor guard for Laura Pollan.

Honor Guard for Laura Pollan (Her husband Hector Maseda front on the right)

Tonight their was also a special service at La Ermita de la Caridad at 10:30pm for Laura Pollan. At least one of the Ladies in White was there, Blanquita Gonzalez the mother of former prisoner of conscience Normando Hernandez.


Excerpt from service at La Ermita in Miami for Laura Pollan

According to Yoani Sanchez, in a 2:00am tweet, starting Saturday at 9:00am and over the next three days a book of condolences for Laura Pollan will be available for signing at Neptuno 963 between Hospital & Aramburu in Central Havana in Cuba.

Over the past week I prayed for Laura Pollan's speedy recovery and tonight I continue to pray for her immortal soul, her family and friends. May her dream of a free Cuba where there are no political prisoners soon be realized.

Service for Laura Pollan on October 14 at Ermita de la Caridad

Embracing Non-Violence and Love: Boycotting Che Guevara's Image

The serious downside to the marketing of Che Guevara as a symbol of rebellion

Qaddafi as Che icon

The BBC reported on October 7, 2011 that the image of Che Guevara made it onto the list of top icons in the world. Three days later on October 10 came across a blog entry from Capitol Hill Cubans that echoed a sentiment that has been raised here in different contexts: Inspiring Violence Across the Globe with a focus on Yemen. The picture first posted in the Spanish publication El País with the headline "Che Guevara in Yemen."

Yemeni General Yehya Mohamed Abdalá Saleh

Yemeni General Yehya Mohamed Abdalá Saleh, the head of that country's brutal security services. During the interview, General Yehya expressed his great admiration for Che Guevara and "the Cuban model of democracy" then pulled out a picture of Guevara and autographed it.

Ideas have consequences and those ideas are sometimes represented by iconic images. This is the case with the image of Che Guevara and the philosophy of political action that he advocated and that other seek to emulate. In Havana, Cuba on April 16, 1967 Ernesto "Che" Guevara presented the essence of what should drive the revolutionary in a message to the Tricontinental, a gathering of guerrillas, terrorists and other activists:

"Hatred as an element of the struggle; a relentless hatred of the enemy, impelling us over and beyond the natural limitations that man is heir to and transforming him into an effective, violent, selective and cold killing machine. Our soldiers must be thus; a people without hatred cannot vanquish a brutal enemy."

In Yemen as in Cuba women have been assaulted by rock and club wielding men sent by the security services. On this blog the bloody impact of Che Guevara and his ideology have been reported. From the rise of military dictatorships in Latin America in response to Guevara's call for a bloody continent wide revolution to their coordinating efforts, successfully, to do away with leftist guerrillas like Guevara in Operation Condor. Another bloody episode was adding fuel to the fire in Northern Ireland. Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein, the civilian arm of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) euphemistically said that "Che was one of the inspirations for the Northern Irish civil rights movement." Whereas Mohandas Gandhi inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to nonviolent civic action. Che Guevara inspired the IRA into greater acts of terrorism and guerrilla warfare. The first with Gandhi's nonviolent vision the latter with Guevara's violent one.

Libyan rebel sitting in vehicle with image of Che Guevara

Australia's News Limited reported on March 28, 2011 that jubilant rebels had set eyes on Qaddafi's home town. At one time Qaddafi himself was viewed as an "African Che." This meant that Qaddafi's rule was brutal, bloody and short for dissenters. At the same time the rebels, also embracing Guevara's bloody political code, have in their uprising against a tyrant also engaged in war crimes and despicable behavior. This does not bode well for what ever emerges out of the conflict in Libya.

Both Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished more than Che Guevara and achieved far greater authority over millions of people. Unlike Che Guevara they murdered no one. Both men also rejected hating and dehumanizing their adversaries. Gandhi was able to end British colonialism in his homeland and King was able to end Jim Crow segregation and empower African Americans with the vote.

What did Che do? Not much.

Che Guevara played a small role in the overthrow of a corrupt dictatorship in Cuba with a similarly corrupt military that the rebels could buy out when unable to fight them. After Batista fled into exile Che helped organize firing squads for defeated adversaries and for comrades in arms that were against the communist project in Cuba. Once Guevara encountered a professional military adversary, first in Africa and later in Latin America, he suffered defeat after defeat until being hunted down and executed in Bolivia. His is a record of failure but because he was photogenic and his philosophy appeals to base and violent impulses it is his image on t-shirts and graffiti around the world. The current shift to the left in Latin America was achieved at the ballot box not through armed struggle.

It is time to take a page out of the Gandhi and King handbook by boycotting businesses that sell Guevara's image and ostracizing those who wear it. The icon and what it represents: an appeal to hatred to generate greater violence in the pursuit of the total destruction of the adversary was an evil ideology in 1967 and continues to be so today as well as having proven to be suicidal in many cases for the practitioners.

Basta Ya!