Speech #920248639

Ambassador. Frank L. Kellogg. the head of our delegation. who is Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Refugee and Migration Affairs. made a very strong statement before this meeting. In part. Ambassador Kellogg said: We have observed on several occasions that the freedom of an individual to leave his country and if he so wishes to return to it is a basic right guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We feel strongly that the individual who finds it impossible to pursue his profession satisfactorily in his own country. cannot practice the religion of his choice. or who wishes to Join his relatives abroad should be permitted to seek resettlement in another country. It has been our belief that governments such as that of the Soviet Union take into account world public opinion. and that efforts of other governments. international organizations and private men of good will could favorably affect emigration from areas such as the Soviet Union. The marked increase in the rate of emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union this year2.000 to 3.000 per monthtends to support this belief. We welcome this development and wish to see it continue. � . . we note in Paragrah 31 that Israel is appealing to the International community for financial assistance to enable ICEM to handle this new largescale flow of refugee migrants. . . . we are in full sympathy with this appeal and it is our intention to make a generous response. Our State Department did in fact transfer 2 million dollars from the U.S. AID Program to the Office of Refugees and Migration Affairs. which Mr. Kellogg heads. to be made available to ICEM to assist in defraying the costs of the processing and transportation of anticipated movements. Mr. Speaker. I believe all Americans would be moved by the story of these brave people who risk humiliation and imprisonment for freedom. Now there is no question that Soviet policy remains one of discouragement of immigration. Applications are ignored. people of the right age for military service suddenly find themselves called up. professional people get transferred or face loss of employment. But it is apparent that the most persistent do get out and I met some persistent onessome that I had a chance to talk to at Schoenau had waited 25 years. The costs facing each refugee are sobering. The overall cost of leaving the Soviet Union for anyone over 16 years of age is $1.300. This breaks down into $480 for travel documents. $600 for being released from Soviet citizenship. and $220 for transportation within the Soviet Union itself. The fact that money is not a barrier testifies to the vitality and generosity of American philanthropy. particularly the United Jewish Appeal. The refugees leave Russia by train and plane for Vienna almost daily. unannounced until the train crosses the border or the plane lands. They go to a processing center about 20 miles outside of Vienna called Schoenau. which was a hunting lodge or castle. There. four or five Israelis. fluent in Russian. members of the Jewish Agency Israel. direct the processing. 250 refugees in 24 to 36 hours. They feed and house them. they go through their paperwork with them. they process them. they handle their insurance. they help them repack and then they take them in modern buses to the airport when El Al planes are waiting for them. The cost of the processing is $35 per person. Transportation once the refugees get to the airport in Vienna is $91 per person. As I indicated earlier. 12.000 refugees were budgeted for. whereas. over 30.000 are anticipated this year. Twenty thousand refugees not budgeted for times $91 Is $1.820.000 of needed transportation money for the balance of 1972. The U.S. contribution of $2 million alone will suffice if the rate of movements does not markedly increase this year. Mr. Speaker. there were significant bonuses for me in connection with the meeting in Geneva. At the suggestion of the Westchester Conference on Soviet Jewry. I broadened the scope of my inquiry into the problems of refugees with appointments with Maurice Naville. president of the International Red Cross. The Sadruddin Aga Khan. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. and a visit to Schoenau. outside of Vienna. It was illuminating. in talking with Mr. Naville. to learn of the restrictions under which the International Red Cross has to operate. for the Geneva Accords talk in terms of armed conflict and the Red Cross responsibilities for prisoners of war in times of hostility.