Poet Freed From Soviet Camp Wants Health Care in West
A dissident poet freed from jail just before the weekend superpower summit said today she will seek medical treatment in the West but will not apply to emigrate.
Irina Ratushinskaya said by telephone from her Kiev home that she needs a thorough examination and possible treatment for heart problems after spending more than 3 1/2 years in a jail and a labor camp.
“I went into camp an absolutely healthy woman,” she said.
Ratushinskaya, 32, said doctors at a labor camp told her last spring that she may not be able to have children.
The poet said friends told her that people in Britain have invited her to visit, but she has not received the formal invitation she must present to Soviet authorities before applying to leave the country.
Soviet dissidents often contend that they cannot trust Soviet doctors to treat them well and that they must travel abroad for proper medical treatment.
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