Now We Have American Refuseniks
Reaves, Lynne
Now We Have American Refuseniks For a mounting number of Soviet Jewish emigres, Ladis-poli has become a city of despair. The atmosphere is filled with anxiety as more and more Soviet Jews are...
...Congressman Howard Ber-man (D-Calif...
...Congressman Gerry Sikorski (D-Minn...
...Before glasnost he was afraid to apply for an exit visa because his wife's father had a good job and he feared a backlash...
...It is very difficult for us here," says Nimorowski, who is appealing his denial of refugee status...
...Many fear war in the Middle East...
...Wait until the United States Congress finds a solution to this problem...
...No one will tell us...
...All the Soviet Jews now in the immigration pipeline were allowed to leave the Soviet Union because they had entry visas to Israel...
...They say I can go on the parole program but I haven't any relatives...
...America has always been and always will be the promised land," says Merrill A. Rosenberg, director of the Rome office of HIAS, which provides assistance for Soviet Jews...
...Go to a country where people have a free life...
...I haven't anybody...
...When they leave the Soviet Union, the emigres are only allowed to change 90 rubles—about $144...
...Abramson is disappointed with how he and other emigres are being treated...
...The atmosphere is filled with anxiety as more and more Soviet Jews are being denied refugee status by Washington...
...The growing numbers being rejected are angry and feel betrayed by Washington...
...A few old men have died waiting here from heartbreak...
...The immigration process to the United States used to take 30 days...
...How can I get there...
...Time passes slowly for the emigres...
...Their knowledge of Israel is usually, if not nil, warped...
...have introduced similar legislation in the Senate...
...1 'Jews still in the Soviet Union should wait...
...They learn very quickly...
...Don't forget they are coming from the Soviet Union...
...Ladispoli, a seaside resort on the Tyrrhenian Sea, has the largest number of Soviet emigres-—currently about 6,000...
...government is granting refugee status on a random basis...
...says Nimorowski...
...has introduced the Emergency Refugee Act of 1989, which permits the immigration of 25,000 additional Soviet refugees and $100 million in additional funds for fiscal year 1989...
...If Israel has peace that is good...
...In Italy they are given monthly allowances from religious and social agencies, but many feel they still do not have enough money...
...But now I want to go to America...
...Simeon Nimorowski is one of those who have been rejected...
...The small towns surrounding the Italian capital that have plenty of relatively cheap apartments have become the temporary homes for the travelers...
...We don't understand what is the reason why they refused us," says Simeon Nimorowski, 60, a former history professor from Tashkent, near the Afghan border...
...The former computer programmer from Leningrad waited for 11 years to leave the Soviet Union...
...Abramson, the computer systems programmer from Leningrad, says he never considered going to I.srael...
...Senators Paul Simon (D-Ill...
...Now some emigres have been in Ladispoli for 6 months...
...Congressional concern has been mounting...
...Many of the emigres feel betrayed and angry with the United States as once again they are forced to become "refuseniks...
...Edward Kennedy (D-Mass...
...An old movie theater has been turned into a synagogue and a small apartment building is now a school for Soviet children...
...by mid-March the refusal rate had reached 36 percent and was still climbing...
...I am afraid for my son...
...They claim all Soviet Jews were persecuted by the Communists and they charge that the U.S...
...Immigration and Naturalization Service responded to the crisis by turning down about 15 percent of the Soviet Jewish emigres' requests for political refugee status at the beginning of 1989...
...Despite the hardships, none of the Soviets waiting in Ladispoli say they would consider going back to the Soviet Union...
...Many spend their days learning English and studying about the United States...
...Gorbachev let us go, but he wouldn't let our money go," says one old man...
...officials are struggling to handle the wave of emigres...
...However, virtually none want to move there...
...Others say they don't agree with Israeli policies toward the Palestinians and a large percentage say they want to join relatives in the States...
...has introduced a resolution urging the Immigration and Naturalization Service to reverse its recent policy changes and return to the historical presumption that Soviet Jews and other persecuted religious minorities are entitled to refugee status...
...All the same, I will tell the people back in the Soviet Union: Escape from this country...
...Lynne Reaves...
...The transit point for all Soviet Jews is Rome...
...On the town street corners Russian is heard as often as Italian and vendors at the vegetable market label their goods in both Italian and Russian...
...Almost all of the 40,000 Jews likely to leave the Soviet Union this year are expected to seek political refugee status in the United States and U.S...
...Most of these people are extremely well educated and very eager to learn," says the teacher of an English language class for adults...
...The U.S...
...They should treat us like people, but they don't...
...Efforts are now underway by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Union of Councils of Soviet Jews and other Jewish organizations to send volunteer lawyers to Rome to assist in defending the rights of Soviet emigres...
...and Robert Kasten (D-Wisc...
...Boris Abramson, 36, arrived in Ladispoli in January...
Vol. 14 • June 1989 • No. 4
