Our two colleagues deserve our heartfelt thanks and appreciation for their efforts. Mr. President. while I am going to describe the tribulations of a particular family that has been refused the right to emigrate from the Soviet Union. we should be aware that the case I am going to describe is by no means an isolated one. There are 2 million Jews who reside in the Soviet Union. In the first 6 months of this year 3.092 Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. which represents an annual rate of emigration of just over 6.000 persons. While this is an increase from last years level. it is not even approaching the rate of emigration allowed in the peak year of 1979. which resulted in the emigration of over 51.000 Soviet Jews. It is estimated that some 400.000 Jews in the Soviet Union are currently seeking the right to emigrate. While I will focus on a particular case. as I must to portray the human dimension of the problem. it is important that we work to assist this group as a class. We cannot afford to rest in this endeavor until a general right to emigrate is established in the Soviet Union and the persecution of Jews in the Soviet Union stops. Alexander Kholmyansky is 37 years old. He is a computer engineer and currently resides in Moscow. Alexander has been refused the right to emigrate for 9 years. During the time of his refusal he was charged with "hooliganism" and illegal possession of a gun. The gun was planted in his home by Soviet officials.
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emigrate emigration