Speech #960195693

As Carl Sandburg once said: Alike and ever alike we are on all continents in the need of love. food. clothing. work. speech. worship. sleep. games. dancing. fun .... From tropics to arctics humanity lives with these needs so alike. so inexorably alike. Emigration policy in the Soviet Union. particularly in the case of Jews. further exemplifies the individual. cultural. and religious repression that Soviet society places on many of its citizens. With the exception of the Jews. each large group has its own "homeland" in the Soviet Union. Jews are officially suspect. considered disloyal to the state and supporters of Israel. They have been denied the right to speak. the right to publish freely. the right to freedom of expression. and above all they have been religiously persecuted. Many have even been placed under arrest for naturally wanting to learn about their heritageJewish history. culture. and tradition. This random. indifferent. and unprincipled treatment has forced many Jews to apply for emigration visas. However. the emigration process itself is demoralizing. It is unpredictable and arbitrary. and it instills fear and desperation in many citizens. Before applying to emigrate. a person must first receive a character reference or "visovs" from a relative abroad. Though many citizens request these documents. many are too afraid to actually register for a visa. After this initial step. applications are made to the Office of Visas and Registration (OVIR). Exit requirements include high emigration fees for visas. payments to clear housing in the U.S.S.R.. numerous visits to police stations for paperwork. restrictions on what can be taken out of the country and the renunciation of Soviet citizenship. Furthermore. if one is lucky enough to leave. he likely will be separated from his immediate family. perhaps forever. aside from being faced with adjusting to a completely new and different society. This costly. controlled. and selective process. which is particularly discriminating toward minorities. becomes for many a futile. nightmarish experience.