Mr. Speaker. I deem it important to participate in this ongoing vigil on behalf of individuals in the Soviet Union. of whatever nationality and religion. who are not free to emigrate. Although there has been some relaxation of emigration practices within the last 2 years. emigration from the Soviet Union continues to be a trickle compared with the numbers who want to emigrate but are denied this universal human right. Thirtynineyearold Zinovi Melamed and 26yearold Aleksander Feldman. both from Kiev. are two of four Jewish activists who. together with Soroko and Tartakovsky. are referred to as the Kiev 4. They are activists because they refuse to be silent about the lack of freedom for Jewish cultural and religious expression. They are activists because they have dared to protest against the Soviet Unions repressive emigration policy. For 2 years Feldman. a bachelor. and the Melamed family of four have been denied emigration permits to Israel. Both men have lost their jobs: Melamed. a construction engineer. now teaches Hebrew. a marginal occupation. His wife Raisa. a mathematician. still employed. is now the chief support of this family. But Feldman. a construction worker. has been caught in a vicious circle of being fired from a job when his employers are notified that he has applied for an exit visa. Then. as an unemployed worker. he is liable to be tried as a parasite. The activities of this pair have been peaceful and law abiding.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visa