DETROIT I Refusenik Continued from preceding page Wishing All A Peaceful, Healthy and Happy New Year. SARA & ASA SHAPIRO AND FAMILY May the coming year be filled with health, happiness and prosperity for all of our Families, Friends and Customers CSHANA TOVA •• •• ru tu ristic Furnishi nos, Inc. ANDREW D. SALLAN 16 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1990 ■■ •• SCOTT P. DRESNER the necessary papers," said Mr. Tsivkin, during a tele- phone conversation from his new home in Stamford, Conn. The couple quit their jobs and prepared to leave. Eight days later, a government of- ficial said the visas had been granted by mistake and the family must stay. "You can imagine. It was the most terrible period of time," he said. Then, later that spring, he unexpectedly received a tourist visa so he could at- tend a Paris human rights conference in June. Upon his return, thinking things had changed, he applied for exit and tourist visas, but was denied. After some discussion, the family agreed to separate. Irina would take their daughter, Susanna, 17, to the United States and cam- paign for her husband's release. The pair received a tourist visa for Paris in January where Mrs. Tviskin met with French officials. They later moved to Stam- ford, which had sponsored the family. After settling in, Mrs. Tsivkin toured the country and made a stop in Detroit at the request of the Jewish Community Council and the Union of Councils of Soviet Jews, urging freedom for her husband. He had thyroid problems and needed medi- cine unavailable in the Soviet Union. Detroiters were asked to send letters to Soviet and American offi- cials on behalf of Mr. Tsivkin. The letters from Detroit and other communities brought his plight to the at- tention of New Jersey Sena- tor Frank Lautenberg, Mr. Tsivkin said. On July 26, 1990, the U.S. Senate approved Resolution 313 petitioning for Mr. Tsivkin's release. "I have the resolution hanging on my apartment wall," he said. "I got permission to leave the Soviet Union so I can visit Senator Lautenberg. The invitation was an ex- cuse for the Soviet govern- ment to permit me to go," Mr. Tsivkin said. "There was probably a reason to keep me for the first two years; for two years, not for 12. There is a differ- ence," said Mr. Tsivkin, 40, who admits he handled classified documents during his job at the Ministry of Defense. He received a tourist visa in early August and 10 days later was in the United States. Now that he's here, he has begun searching for a job as a computer systems analyst. Mrs. Tsivkin has a tem- porary job as a scientist for Clairol, while their daughter is enrolled at New York University. "I'm happy my family is reunited," Mr. Tsivkin said. "I'm thankful to all the peo- ple who had a part in my release. I'm grateful for the people who just wanted to be involved in my problem." While Mr. Tsivkin is final- ly free, 552 Soviet families have been denied exit visas, said Linda Foster, Detroit Jewish Community Council program director. The actual figure is probably higher be- cause the list reflects only those refuseniks whose names are known. Mr. Tsivkin hopes to con- tinue working to support Soviet Jewry, including the 30 refusenik families he knows in his hometown of Leningrad, where he served as B'nai B'rith president. "Only a few people know the stress of being a long- term refusenik," he said. "'Ib be a refusenik is a dangerous occupation." Anti-Semitism is the big- gest threat. While Pamyat is the best known of the anti- Semitic groups flourishing in the Soviet Union, the strongest is called Otechestvo, meaning fatherland. Food, medicine, and other necessities are also hard to find thanks to a severe econ- omic crisis hitting the coun- try, he said. Store shelves are empty except in the highly priced black market. "The situation in the Soviet Union is terrible," Mr. Tsivkin said. "They really need support." Detroiters must continue to support refusniks, Ms. Foster said. "It's a lot easier to get packages in Russia," she said. "It's real important to let them know they have not been forgotten." People traveling to the Soviet Union are urged to bring medicine and other necessities with them to give to families, she said. There is a tentative project to bring books to Jews in Detroit's sister city, Minsk, Ms. Foster said. "It's an excellent way to show our concern and interest in preserving Judaism." Sending letters to Ameri- can and Soviet officials, which helped make a differ- ence for Mr. Tsivkin, are also needed, she said. "Advocacy is just as im- portant as resettlement," she said. ❑ 4i