This case is particularly moving for me because of my recent involvement in the reunion of another divided couple. my constituent Sandra Gubin and her Soviet husband Aleksei Lodisev. After almost 5 years of separation. Aleksei was granted permission to emigrate from the Soviet Union shortly after the summit meetings last fall. Personally sharing in the despair and frustration of their forced separation and the incredible joy of their reunion gives me an idea of what the Shcharanskys must be experiencing now. My involvement with Sandra and Aleksei has also reinforced my conviction that we must redouble our efforts on behalf of those who remain in the Soviet Union against their will. We rejoice in the release of Natan Shcharansky and Aleksei Lodisev. but we must not forget the hundreds of thousands left benindordinary people whose only wish is to leave the Soviet Union in order to be free in Israel or to join their families in other countries. Although they pose no threat to anyone. every day in the Soviet Union these individuals are being stripped of their rights and dignity and left to languish against their will in a nether world they are forbidden to leave. While we hope that the release of Shcharansky will prove to be a harbinger of freedom for Soviet Jewry and the many others seeking a new life outside the Soviet Union. this event cannot obscure the fact that emigration remains at record low levels. Our struggle must continue unabated. Any goodwill the Soviet Government wishes to reap from such releases can only be sustained with substantial. measurable and consistent improvement in their emigration policies and in permitting Soviet Jews to exercise their fundamental human rights. whether they choose to stay or leave. and to fulfull their destiny. Mr. Speaker. again I thank the gentleman in the well for his leadership on this vital question.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration