Each of these barriers requires various lengths of time and is designed to prevent people from indicating a desire to leave by increasing at each level the amount of harassment. intimidation. and punitive actions. It does not take a genius to figure out that this process could. and many times does. take a lifetime before approval to leave is granted. All during this time. a potential emigrant risks losing his job. his family. educational opportunities for his children and the support of his community. When the United States granted mostfavorednation status to Romania. we did so in the hope that the emigration barriers would be liberalized. Emigration is the last resort for those people who can no longer survive in their homeland. Just try to imagine for a moment how oppressive life must be to force an individual to sacrifice his past and his present for an unknown future. With this in mind. I find it particularly reprehensible that the Romanian Government persists in increasing on a yearly basis the number of emigration barriers. while simultaneously seeking renewal of MFN benefits. For three years. Congress has gone through this summer ritual of accepting carte blanche. assurances that Romania would liberalize their emigration policies. In reality. the barriers are ever increasing. Another aspect of the Romanian Governments disregard for human rights is reflected in their treatment of national minorities. especially the 21/2 million Hungarians.
Keywords matched
emigration emigrant Emigration