We are not deceived by a few token gestures. We are glad but we are not deceived when a few prominent dissidents are set free. While Sharansky and Feltsman and Slepak and Nudel have been released in the full glow of Western TV cameras. the new Soviet emigration law makes it harder. not easier for 95 percent of those left behind. The new emigration law allows only those with a relative abroad of the first degreeparents. children. or siblingsto apply for visas. We rallied on December 6 and we participate in this special order today to tell Mr. Gorbachev. to tell the Kremlin. and to tell the world that we are their relatives of the first degree. because we are their brothers and sisters. Ours is a large family. It includes the mujahidin of Afghanistan. the workers of Poland. the fighters in Nicaragua. the refugees of Asia. and lovers of freedom around the world. Wherever people yearn for freedom. we have brothers and sisters. Maria Slepak has said. "if we close our eyes. they will cease to exist." We will not close our eyes.
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emigration visas refugees