After waiting the allotted time. he reapplied. In May 1980. again. he was refused. but no reason was given this time. Recently Boris was refused permission to emigrate for a third time. Lisa still lives in my Pennsylvania District. apart from her husband. Sasha. now 15 months old. has met his father only once. Although he has appealed this last decision. it is clear Boris will again have to wait 6 months and apply yet another time for an exit visa. Like so many others. his desire to leave the Soviet Union is not based on political considerations but rather is a matter of family reunification. a humanitarin appeal. We are all familiar with the Helsinki agreement of 1975. whereby the Soviet Union agreed to accelerate the processing of exit visas for all minorities. especially in those cases where family reunification is an issue. The sad truth is. in 1980. the number of Soviet Jews granted permission to emigrate sharply declined from previous years. Although our pleas seem to receive little consideration. I believe. along with many others. that world opinion can force the Soviet Union to abide by the Helsinki agreement and live up to the responsibilities agreed upon by all signatory nations.
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