During our conversation this morning. we expressed to Liubov Vashchenko the hope. the prayer. and the wish that our efforts succeed. We are hoping that we will be able to have hearings on this bill and that a hearing will take place on a similar bill which has now been introduced in the House of Representatives. We also indicated that we would do whatever we could to obtain from the Russians compensation for the use of the home in the native village of the Vashchenkos. compensation which. if made. would pay for the filing fees which must be paid if and when these families are permitted to emigrate to the United States. The Embassy has provided the two families with food and clothing. They have access to medical treatment in the Embassy clinic. They attend church services on the Embassy compound every Sunday and are free to attend the coffee hour afterward. But. they continue to wait for their precious freedompermission to emigrate to the United States. Experience has shown that expressions of concern and support from the West can often win concessions in the Soviet treatment of religious groups. Lidia Vashchenko has written: All the years of our struggle we were alone. and the advantage in number was on the side of the people who fought against us.
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emigrate