The Helsinki accords. signed by the Soviet Union in 1975. were Intended to guarantee certain basic rights. including the freedom for all to practice their religion. to maintain contacts with foreigners. and to travel uninhibited. Sadly. however. the Soviet Union has failed to respect the agreement to which it is explicitly committed. Jewish emigration from the U.S.S.R. has declined to an average of fewer than 1.000 per year. compared with 51.300 in 1979. A total of 400.000 Soviet Jews have taken the risky step of applying for permission to leave the U.S.S.R. 50.000 have been refused permission to leave the Soviet Union for up to 20 years. earning the name "refuseniks." and consequently living as pariahs in Soviet society. But not only do the Soviet authorities restrict individuals ability to be reunited with their family members in Israel or other Western countries. they also take active steps to discourage Jews from applying for exit visas. With heavyhanded methods including beatings. show trials of religious Jews and Hebrew teachers. and long labor camp sentences on charges ranging from "antiSoviet propaganda" to "illegal possession of narcotics." the KGB is orchestrating a campaign to intimidate those families who still hope to be reunited with their parents. siblings. or even spouses abroad. The example of Mikhail Elman. a Leningrad refusenik whose brother and sisterinlaw live in California. provides a gruesome illustration of these basic human rights violations. Elman. an Orthodox Jew. has been repeatedly harassed by the KGB in connection with his Jewish activities. Elman first applied for an exit visa in 1980. He immediately lost his job as a computer engineer and had to begin working as a bathhouse attendant to support his family. In 1981. he and a friend were arrested and detained for 10 days for attempting to lay a wreath at Babi Yar. site of the World War II massacre of thousands of Jews.
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emigration visas visa