Standing on the Capitol steps. this sense of pride was mingled with undertones of gratitude. sadness. frustration. and repugnance. Gratitudethat my colleagues and I. as American citizens. were able to congregate without fear of persecution for standing up for our beliefs. unlike millions of Soviet Jews. who have either been silenced by the Soviet Government or persecuted for their religious affiliation. Sadnessfor the hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews who presently seek to emigrate from the Soviet Union. yet have been denied their inherent right to do so. And. for the millions of their fellow men. women. and children. who have. for decades. been harassed. beaten. imprisoned. stripped of human dignity. and murdered. Frustrationat the unresponsiveness of the Soviet Government to worldwide pleas for the release and more humane treatment of Soviet minorities. Last year at this time. in retort to the fallacious claim by his government that "all Jews who wish to emigrate have been permitted to do so". I appealed to Secretary Andropov to open the doors to those who longed to escape the tyranny they faced within his country. The response: A ban on emigration and steppedup efforts to punish dissidents. Today. under Mr. Chernenko. emigration has dwindled to a mere trickle. with only 303 exit visas issued to Soviet Jews during the first 4 months of this year. Repugnanceat the callous treatment of its minorities. who find themselves caught between the desire to practice their religious beliefs in the Soviet Union and their need to live in a more democratic society. Repugnance. too. at the recurrent Soviet violations of the Helsinki accords and the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. These treaties. signed by the U.S.S.R.. recognize emigration as a fundamental human right. The refusenik I honor today. as in the past. Stella Goldberg. is one of those trapped within this oppressive society.
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visas emigrate emigration