They are invariably fired from their jobs. not allowed to worship. and are scorned on a daily basis. The case of Marat and Claudia Osnis. which I have adopted. fits this typical scenario. The Osnis family first applied for an exit visa in 1972 together with Marats parents and his grandmother. Marats parents and grandmother were allowed to emigrate to Israel. but Marat was refused on the grounds that he had been exposed to classified materials at his job as an engineer. However. he was told that he would be granted an exit visa within a short time. Marat was not allowed to continue in his profession after applying for a visa and had to support his family by tutoring and odd manual jobs. His wife. Claudia. was expelled from the university where she was a student of economics. In 1979. Marat was told that he would receive his exit visa in 1981. 10 years after leaving his former job as an engineer. however he was refused again in October 1981 without explanation. The oppression and limits on personal freedom which the Osnis family. along with other Soviet refuseniks. must endure is unconscionable in todays world. It is my fervent wish that the new hopes lighted in the hearts of Soviet refuseniks and prisioners of conscience by the release of Anatoly Shcharansky will not be extinguished.
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