Interviews with Berta Soler

The Cuban regime is very worried. They know we are growing.

In 2003, the majority of us were family of the imprisoned Group of 75. Then the mothers and family of other political prisoners and women had no family were supportive and joined us. The government thought that by releasing the 75, that they would leave the county and that it would do away with the Ladies in White. They thought that even though a few remained in Cuba, they would disappear. They were wrong.

We have gained strength and have grown more. Because there are many women who are aware, who have suffered from the system, whose children have been thrown out of schools, who have been evicted from their homes, who are homeless, whose husbands have been fired from their jobs, and who lack money.

So they have joined us. They have learned of our struggle to fight for what we all want: a different Cuba. The Cuban government, which is very worried, harasses them, threatens them, kicks them out of places, takes them to cells, and takes them to prison.

Even now, Sonia Garro Alfonso, a Lady in White, was taken violently from her home along with her husband by the Cuban government, solely for defending their rights on March 18, 2012. She was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet and is in prison. Soon, on November 1, [2013] she will be taken before a tribunal and faces 10 years of prison.

[Sonia Garro was charged with assault, disorderly conduct and attempted murder. She remains in prison.]

We must put an end to this totalitarianism and arbitrary acts. I want the world to know that we, the Ladies in White, raise our voices for the liberty of all of the political prisoners.

At this time of Sonia Garro’s situation, we also know that difficult moments are near because the Cuban government is in power, but it knows that reason and truth are on our side and that we will continue. Many youth have joined our ranks.

We want for the youth to not have to escape from Cuba because they have no future. Meanwhile, the repression against us becomes stronger. We are not afraid. Our struggle continues. Our struggle is beautiful. It’s not private or individual. It is a struggle for all Cubans.

Berta Soler Fernández was born in Cuba in 1963. She studied microbiology and became a hospital technician in Havana. In 1988, Berta married Angel Moya Acosta, an opposition activist who became one of 75 nonviolent dissidents arrested during the March 2003 crackdown known as the Black Spring.

Berta’s activism began after Cuban authorities imprisoned her husband in 2003. Joining with other spouses and family members of the Black Spring prisoners, she became a founding member of an organization called the Ladies in White (Damas de Blanco) that demanded the release of their loved ones and advocated for greater civil liberties in Cuba.

In October 2004, the Ladies in White staged protests in front of the Communist Party’s headquarters in Revolution Square, pressuring the government to allow Berta’s husband to undergo surgery for a herniated disc. The protest went on for two days until the regime permitted Angel’s operation.

Berta was a central figure in orchestrating the release of her husband and other Black Spring political prisoners. The Ladies in White lobbied Cardinal Jaime Ortega, the leading representative of the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba, and convinced him to negotiate for the release of the prisoners. By 2011, after years of protests, the Black Spring dissidents, including Berta’s husband, were released. While the majority of the prisoners went into exile, Berta and Angel chose to remain in Cuba.

In 2005, the European Parliament awarded the Ladies in White its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Berta, along with the other representatives of the organization, planned to receive the honor in person. However, the Cuban government denied them passports and they were unable to attend the ceremony. In 2013, after the regime had relaxed its repressive travel restrictions, Berta received permission to leave the island and led a delegation to accept the 2005 Sakharov Prize on behalf of the Ladies in White.

In 2011, Berta assumed the leadership of the Ladies in White following the death of the organization’s co-founder, Laura Pollan. She continues the struggle for a free and democratic Cuba.