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Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas was a famous Cuban political activist, who lost his life under inexplicable circumstances on July 22, 2012. He was an outspoken opposition figure in Cuba's Communist regime and was one of the most important democratic reform advocates in the country. To many in this land, he was hope.
Tragically, his death, attributed by the Cuban government to a car accident, is suspected since its moment as a targeted killing by his family and international organizations. In 2023, the IACHR concluded that the Cuban state had responsibility for his killing.
Night is Not Eternal, by HBO, digs deep into the life of Payá, and activism in defiance of his untimely death to highlight the fight for democracy and perseverance through his legacy.
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Night is Not Eternal is a documentary to be released by HBO on November 19, 2024, at 9 PM EST. The film premiered globally at the Montclair Film Festival on October 20, 2024, and is to be released in small theaters on November 15, 2024, before its actual release date on HBO.
Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas’s early life and entry into activism
Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas was born in 1952 in Havana, Cuba, into a Roman Catholic family of seven children. He grew up in a poor environment amidst widely suppressed freedoms under the Fidel Castro regime. During his service in the military, Oswaldo Payá refused to join the Communist Youth League and was imprisoned at Isla de Pinos for three years.
After being discharged, Payá was a university student at the University of Havana studying physics. That didn't last long either since his Christian beliefs brought him into the sights of the regime, and he was expelled. He eventually graduated from a night school with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications and continued to nurture his vision of an independent Cuba.
Payá’s work for democracy and the Varela Project
In 1987, Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas founded the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), promoting civil disobedience in non-violent defense against the Cuban Communist Party. His most important undertaking was with the Varela Project: calling for constitutional reforms, freedom of speech, the right to private business, and free elections.
The Varela Project gained tremendous popularity; as of today, it has reached 30,000 signatures; which exceeded by far the 10,000 that, under Cuban law, would trigger a referendum. Still, the Cuban government voided this petition and launched a rival campaign by coercing citizens into signing another petition of socialism being "irrevocable".
Payá's efforts won him international recognition. He was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament and even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Activism, however, also made him a target for continuous surveillance and harassment by the Cuban authorities.
The controversial death of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas
Cuban dissident Oswaldo Payá died on 22 July 2012 after a car crash in Bayamo, Cuba, with fellow activist Harold Cepero. The authorities said that the driver of their car had lost control and rammed into a tree.
However, two survivors of the accident, Swedish politician Jens Aron Modig and Spanish politician Ángel Carromero, tell a contrary tale. According to them, another vehicle from their car was rammed by a vehicle carrying license plates from the Cuban government, which eventually caused the car crash.
Long before 2023 when the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights verified Payá's death as an orchestrated killing by the Cuban state after years of threats and harassment against him, Payá's family was suspicious of foul play.
This decision somehow placated the Payá family, who, in the wake of the death of the activist, had moved to Miami, Florida.
Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas's death has been a great loss to the pro-democracy movement in Cuba. However, his daughter, Rosa María Payá, continues the battle with social networks and international focus on forcing democratic reforms in Cuba.
HBO's Night is Not Eternal revisits the life of Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, describing this man of great courage under the oppressive regime and the incredible efforts he had laid down to try to make a difference. His circumstances of death are also taken through, raising critical questions about the accountability of the Cuban government.
