Mr. Speaker. as Congress prepares to adjourn. I wanted to take this opportunity to once again focus attention on the long and difficult struggle of the Hess family to emigrate from the Soviet Union. Grigory Hess. his wife. and their two daughters first attempted to obtain an exit visa to Israel 7 years agotoday. they still wait in an atmosphere of hopefulness and fear. They have suffered greatly at the hands of Soviet authorities. who have made their lives in Minsk. Russia. a nightmare of surveillance. harassment. and humiliation. However. the Hess family remains steadfast in their determination to emigrate. and the courage and dedication they show serves as an inspiration to all refuseniks in the Soviet Union. Grigory Hess has been an active and outspoken proponent of the rights of Jews in the U.S.S.R. to emigrate. and he took part in compiling a survey at the end of 1979 which details the Jewish emigration movement in the Soviet Union. The following excerpt of this recent report stresses the importance of the interest of foreign leaders in the Soviet Jews struggle and serves as a lesson to all of us who are in a position to publicize and gather support for these people.
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emigrate emigration visa