Cuban opposition group Ladies in White were finally able to pick up a prize they won in 2005 Tuesday, after they were granted permission to travel abroad.
The Ladies in White, (Damas de Blanco), is a group made of up wives, female relatives and daughters of jailed dissidents.
They protest unjust imprisonments brought on by the Cuban government by attending Sunday Mass wearing white dresses, then walking in complete silence through the streets of Havana.
They were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom in Thought eight years ago, but Cuban authorities would not give them clearance to travel to Brussels and retrieve it, reports the Miami Herald.
But when the South American country made some changes to their travel rules in January, the female group was allowed to make their way to Europe.
Co-founder of the group Berta Soler spoke at Tuesday's ceremony, saying that the work in Cuba was not even close to over.
"We need a Cuba where there is proper freedom and human rights," she said, pushing for "real reforms, not just cosmetic change."
Ladies in White first got together in 2003, in efforts to gain freedom for their incarcerated loved ones-there were 75 family members that had been jailed spring of the same year, in an enormous dissident crackdown performed by the Cuban government.
They hope, though, that new legislation allowing extended travel to citizens of Cuba is the first step in a necessary move towards democracy.
Cuban dissidents claim harassment and detentions have gone up under Raul Castro's new rule. However, they do recognize that the country's prisons are now clear of almost all political prisoners.
To that end, the government has also eased up on foreign travel, allowing blogger Yoani Sanchez to travel freely.
Beyonce and Jay-Z were also granted permission to go to the country, in a trip heavily covered by the American media.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
