I had hoped that by this time. with the rapid changes taking place in the Soviet Union. the term "refusenik" would have become an anachronism. Unfortunately. refusenik can still be used to describe the condition of Soviet Jewish men and women in the present tense. They are still living in fear. they are still being denied permission to emigrate. and they are still being forced to put their lives on hold. I am sorry to say that the term "refusenik" still applies to over 600 familiesmore than 2.500 individuals who have applied to leave the Soviet Union. Mr. President. the case of Vladimir Raiz. his wife Katmela. and sons Moshe and Saul is typical of the conditions of Soviet Jew. It is typical in that. amidst the veritable floodtide of exit visas that have been issued in the past year. the Raiz family lives under a cloak of fear imposed by the capricious Soviet emigration system. Although their case shares much in common with those of other refuseniks. the Raizs situation is also unique. It is unique because of the four individual people waiting to emigrate. Over the years. refusenik has been a common title for tens of thousands of Soviet Jews. But we cannot view these people simply as numbers: These are each special individuals who continue to suffer the scourge of religious persecution. Vladimir and Karmela Raiz first applied to emigrate from the U.S.S.R. in 1972. During the 17 intervening years. they have suffered continual harassment by the KGB. they have been subjected to prolonged interrogations. have lost their jobsa natural consequence of applying to leaveand they have repeatedly had their appeals refused on the grounds that Vladimirs medical research exposed him to state secrets. The fact that they were able to start a family under this tremendous stress is a tribute to the Raizs tremendous strength of character.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration visas