Newspapers / The Charlotte Jewish News … / Sept. 1, 1992, edition 1 / Page 9
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Page 9-THE NEWS-S»ptember 1992 Helsinki: Its Significance for Jewry Russian Resettlement Russians Are Helping Russians By Lynne Cojac When the first group of So viets arrived in Charlotte in May of 1990, English classes were provided for them at the JCC under the tutelage of a former Soviet named Ingrid Norieko. On July 25 of this year, Ingrid’s sister, Silvia Aizpurviete, arrived in Charlotte for resettlement as part of the family reunification program. Silvia arrived with her husband, Benno Eidus, and her nine-year-old daughter, Sandra Sprude. Help with resettlement is needed in the form of drivers, social outlets and “host” activ ities for the family. Please give Ingrid’s family some of the support she has shown for all our new Russian friends by calling Dori at Jewish Family Services, 364-6594, to help. Newly-arrived emigres are currently receiving help with their English from Alla Mogi levsky. Alla and her husband Mikhail arrived about a year ago with their son, Grigory, who is 11. The Mogilevsky family are cousins of the Bill Gorelick and Shelton Gorelick families. Alla and Mikhail are both computer programmers who learned to read and write excellent English while still in the Soviet Union. Alla says, “I was lucky. I had good teachers in school. I read a lot. I like English." Both Alla and Mikhail donate their time and knowledge to the Jewish community through an agree ment that JFS helped them negotiate...they offer free courses in English and computer skills to new adult emigres. Mikhail’s class is for those Russians who have never used a computer before. He uses the MS DOS book he brought from Russia as the basic text and is able to work with 10 or 12 students at a time. The classes were held for eight weeks this summer and provided 24 hours of class time for each student. Mikhail's aim is to expose them to the use of personal computers At present, help is needed with finding or upgrading the jobs of some recent emigres. Larisa Barringo needs work doing housekeeping. Alla Birman needs a 15-20 hr. per week job as a cashier, bookkeeper or clerical worker and has good English skills. Ana Waldman can work in a restaurant or hotel and hopes they will, perhaps, continue their learning else where afterwards. The classes are given in the Russian lan guage and Mikhail hopes the skills his students learn will also help them in the future with their jobs. Alla sent a letter to all the new immigrants, offering basic level English for the same eight-week period this summer. Many of Alla’s students do not have enough contact speaking at their jobs, so her class helps fill that void. Alla says it is a pleasure to teach English to her students. Alla and Mikhail will soon need to renew their agreement for space and computer time at the JCC so they can give further assistance to Russians who continue to arrive. As the hands reach out to help more Russians resettle here, it is rewarding to see these newcomers, also, ready to lend a hand. The following is an excerpt from the July 5 issue of Parade Magazine’s article by David Wallechinsky.: “The most important lesson I have learned from immigrants to the United States is that our nation is at its best when we reach out to help others—not for political or material gain, but just because what we have is good, and we are glad to share it. Whether it is our government sending food to orphans in Armenia or medical aid to disaster victims in Bangladesh or individual Americans extending a hand of friendship to visitors from other countries, it is this unselfishness and altruism that makes me most proud to be an American...Like most people born in the U.S., I have grown up taking a lot—the good and the bad—for granted. Through my friendships with these newly arrived immigrants, I have redis covered my own country... Sometimes it takes new Amer icans to make us realize what’s wonderful about our country.” as a cashier or in store sales and speaks English well. Benjamin Weinstein can do electrical repair or custodial work. Svetla na Weinstein needs work in housekeeping or as a seamstress. Call Dori, 364-6594, if you, or someone you know, can help provide work for them. By William Korey from Near East Report The recent Helsinki Summit of the 52-member Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) inevitably re calls the signing, seventeen years ago, of the historic Helsinki human rights accord. No states man at that time ever imagined the enormous impact it would ultimately have. The Helsinki process with its focus upon human rights, helped dismantle the Communist structure in East Europe and shatter the seeming ly impregnable Berlin Wall. Soviet Jewish activists were early to recognize the revolu tionary potential of the Helsinki accord, particularly its “Basket Three” obligation that govern ments must facilitate “the re union of families.” Only two and one-half weeks after the agree ment was approved, several dozen Soviet Jews sent a petition to the Kremlin demanding that they be allowed to reunite with families in Israel. During 1975- 76, one-quarter of known Soviet Jewish appeals made specific The Helsinki process, with its focus upon hu man rights, helped dis mantle the Communist structure in East Eu rope and shatter the seemingly impregnable Berlin Wall. reference to the Helsinki obliga tion. Helsinki became a veritable metaphor for the Jewish emigra tion struggle. No CSCE review meeting or experts conference would take place without high lighting Moscow’s restrictions upon exit visas for Jews. By January 1989, Moscow was obliged to adhere to the Vienna CSCE agreement, which eliminated most restrictions upon exit visas. Secretary of State George Shultz’s policy of linking a Helsinki-sponsored human rights conference in the USSR—as well as conventional arms reduction negotiations—to favorable Soviet conduct on Jewish emigration raised Helsin ki standards to a new high. No longer would the issue be “reunion of families.” The Vien na document established an untrammeled principle of an individual’s rights to leave a country unrelated to whether or not he has a family elsewhere. The figures of Soviet Jewish emigration were impressive: approximately 700,000 since the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, and over 400,000 since Vienna con cluded in 1989. Indeed, the right to emigrate that was guaranteed at Helsinki helped, in a major way, to topple the Berlin Wall. In the late summer of 1989, East Germans vacationing in Hungary fied to West Germany. When East Ger man leader Erich Honecker’s re gime demanded that its Commu nist partner adhere to a bilateral agreement requiring Hungarians to return home, the Budapest government pointed to the new Helsinki requirements. The re sult was a fiood of East Germans to the West, which ultimately triggered the overthrow of Com munist rule in East Berlin. With the breakup of the for mer Soviet Union, Helsinki’s value as an emigration standard- setter is especially important today. Jews in the former Soviet republics—whether in Central Asia or the Caucasus or elsewhere— must be assured of their right to leave. As successor states, they have been admitted into the CSCE on condition that they fulfill all Helsinki obligations. Rights are not the only con sequence of Helsinki. The new freedoms in Eastern Europe brought in their wake the “free dom” to hate, and the target was often Jews. The Helsinki process became siezed with this issue at its June, 1990 meeting in Copen hagen. For the first time ever, an international agreement was approved which “unequivocal ly” condemned “racial and eth nic hatred [and] anti-Semitism.” European governments were to “intensify efforts” to combat these phenomena, including the enactment of laws barring incite ment of ethnic violence, as well as the adoption of educational programs “to promote under standing and tolerance.” In keeping with that obliga tion, the CSCE itself will soon begin a special educational program. It will hold a seminar for all its member states, which is to focus on ways to fight all forms of racism, including spe cifically anti-Semitism. Korey is Director of the In ternational Council of B'nai BYith. OOPS! Ed. Note: Lynne Cojac's name was inadvertantly omitted from the caption of the Soviet Coalition photo last month. Photo was by Ali Kavadlo. The only Pro-choice Candidate for District 57 D«ttie COPLQN Your Voice for N,C, House Endorsed by: Bobbi Bernstein Herman Blumenthal Hilbert Fuerstman Alan & Ruth Goldberg Ruth Slesinger Dr. Robert Yudell Paid for by the Committee to Elect Uottie Coplon PROPOITIES Commercial • Industrial • Manacement Greetings to all this Rosh Hashanah. Let the Shofar herald a coming year of peace and understanding for all mankind. May you have a New Year blessed with prosperity and health. P.O. Box 2439 • Matthm. NO 28106 • 366-1981 — Jobs Needed — 109 Years = 109 Years in Business ofDoing it Right for Our Customers Since 1883 HomefbdeialSavings Charlotte: Uptown. SouthPfcrk. Sharon Road: .Mortsace l>oan OnUe. F^stland. Carmel R**ad (n«ir Hw>. 51), ftirk Road, Cotwtild, UnlverNit> llacc. North MeckknburR: 1-77 and HijihHay 73. Tfl«*ph4»ne H>K: Insured. 1800-477-3466 Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 1992, edition 1
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