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TEACHER JUDY TONKA
coaches Jack Gosis on English grammar. Gosis attended night c/asses tor three months
before he mastered the language we/1 enough to get
a
job. At right, 75-year-o/d Oiga Letevr /istens intently.
jor American ci ties whe re the re are
Jewis h o rga ni za ti o ns willing to
t:O unsel and support them .
Adjusting toa Totally Different Lite
Thc d rama tic a ttempt to rebuild thc
li ves of Russ ia n Jews in an alíen
culture is shepherded by Jewis h
Fede ration Cou ncil (J FC) s tafl·
membcrs who a re struggling for a nd
oflen quarrc ling with them in the
ba ttle to integrate, house. feed , and
find jobs fo r th em in a sha ky Ameri–
ca n eco n o my . The fede rati o n .
founded more than 50 yea rs ago
and funded by United Jewish Ap–
pcal, is thc offi cial o rganiza ti o n
which guarantecs to support the re f–
ugees. who canno l accept aid from
U.S. government agenc ies, lest thei r
s tatus as poten tial citizens be jeop–
a rdized. Within days of their arri val ,
th e immig ra nts are totaUy invo lved
in a concentra ted three-mo nth pro–
gram aimed primarily a t teaching
them English and getting them jo bs.
Funds fo r rent, food, and other
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976
needs are provided along with free
medica! a nd den tal care durin g
those first three mo nths.
Each family is assigned a coun–
seloJ, who with the help o f volun–
te ers (sorne Ru ss i an s peaking)
guides the immigrants through ori–
entation works hops, introduces
them to the city's resources. schools.
and neighborhoods, listens to per–
sona l problems , and shares informa–
tio n about everyth.ing from birth
control to how to sho p in an Ameri–
can s upe rmarket.
T he Jewish Vocation Serv ice of
JFC faces enormous headaches in
finding j obs for th e immigrants who
believed tbat their skills as scientísts,
doct o rs. engi neers, or management
executives would be in great de–
mand here. However. their Russ ia n
education o ften does not mee t spe–
cific American curricular s ta nda rds,
and o pportunities to retrain a re ex–
pensive and limited . The imm.i–
gra nts d o not under stand th e
concept of upward mobility. and
they a re shocked a nd bitter when
they rea li ze it could ta ke years (if
ever) be fo re they can continue their
ca recrs in the United States.
They a re warned by their voca–
tional counselors tha t at the end of
the three-month orientation pe ri od
they musl consider any job which
comes along. Believing that they
will be trappcd in menia l work, they
are often tenified a nd belligerent.
They have just left a country wherc
people are locked into jobs a t a n
early age. and where socia l s tanding
and th e o pportunity to earn favors
from the govemment (chauffcu red
cars , lu xuri o us vacations. good
a pa rtments) depend on job classifi –
cation.
Life in the U.S.S.R. , say the im–
mig ran ts, is full of tensio n and pres–
sure. Salaries are mise rly, which is
why eve ry adu lt in a family mus t
work. Sovie t jails a re full of people
who we re ca ught stea ling in o rder to
suppl ement their small incomes. A
facto ry worker earns a n average o f
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