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140 rublcs a month - approxi–
ma tely $ 185 a t the official exchange
ra te of $ 1.32 to th c ruble.
Thc only way out of the menia l
j obs is highe r edu ca ti on. Com–
pet ition to havc one's children ad –
mitted into thc crowded institut ions
and unive rsit ies is fie rce. Bribes are
commonplace, and bei ng a member
in good standin g with th e Commu–
nist Pa rty hclps. But Jews are io–
creas in gly finding that the un iversity
doors are d osing to them.
Thc Sovi et sta te eneourages edu–
cation by provid ing stipends to stu–
dents. However, the government
a lso
ma nipu l a tc~
th c choice o f ca–
reers for iLS citi zens. [f th e gove rn–
ment decides it needs miners or
engineers ra thcr than
journa li ~ Ls
or
dentis ts. money for study ing den–
t ist ry or jou rna lism simply shrin ks
or disappears.
Mobil ity is limited. A change of
job. a movc from one ci ty to another
- or even from onc a partmen t to
another
cannot be accomplished
wi thout ontcia l pcrmission. In add i–
ti on, dropping out to explore op–
ti ons is dangerous bchavio r in th e
U.S.S. R. lt is lega lly and mora lly
wrong to be without work. " Para–
sitisrn" is an ugly cha rge which can
bring a ja il tcrm. Whcn Jewish farn–
ilies seek cxi t
vi~as.
they fi nd thcir
ch ildren's posi t ions at the unive rsi ty
jeopardized. and they rnay lose the ir
job and see pens ions withdrawn
from thcir cldcrly parcnts.
Out of one pressure cooker and
into ano thcr, thc immigrants are not
always docilc and full of grat itude.
Some federatio n cou nselors refer to
them as "host ile. bordering on pa ra–
noid." Thc Russians say the agency
executi ves are just another bunch of
bu rea ucra ts. much like the ones
th ey faccd in the U.S.S.R.
T he imm igrants have d ifficulty
distinguishing be twecn the limited
authority of an ontcia l of a volun–
tecr ins tit ution li k.e the Jewish Fed–
e r a ti o n and th e gove rnme nt
bu reaucra ts in the Soviet Union.
Since jobs depend on their ability
to use Engl ish, there i heavy pres–
su re on the immigrants to learn th e
la nguagc g u ick ly. Th ey a tt end
school fi ve days a week for thc fi rst
month a nd then four nights a week
at a high schoo l during thc next two
month~.
Thcy are especia lly fond of
10
one of the ir teachcrs. J udy Tonka. a
25-year-old Hunga ria n refugee in
th is country on ly eight years. Her
enthusiasm in. pires th em - sincc
shc lca rn cd f:: ngli:-h a t the samc
~c hoo l
and now has a co11ege de–
grec.
There is humor in the class a long
with thc frustra tion of having to
lea rn everythi ng so fas t. Judy asked
Sam to use the word angry in a
sc ntcncc. He said, "Every day a t
twcl vc o'clock 1 gc t angry.·· Judy.
pe rp lcx cd , di scove red he meu nt
hungry. Oiga. another student said.
"Al! rncn gc t a ngry when hungry...
Th e class broke up in laughter and
agreed tha t angry a nd hungry can
mean thc
~a m e
thing.
Du ring thc duy in this same high
school the children or the re fu gees
ta lk about how much be tt er thcy
lik e
~choo l
in America. Therc is less
regimenta ti on. school only fi ve in–
stea d of six days a wcck. and most
imp o rt an ! , r rcc d o m to make
choiccs. "We ca n choose our ca–
recrs. T hcrc is no government to te ll
us wha t to study."'
" 1Have Never Seen So Much Food"
lt
is sti ll amazing to thc
rc fu gee~
th a t th crc are so many choices they
ca n makc for themsclves. The fol–
lowing remarks were made with thc
undcrstan ding that thcy would be
rccorded anonymously. Fear for
relat ivcs in Russia is onc reason.
·' In Russia there is a saying. lf
you ca t well , you don't
~ lecp
wcll.
And if you sleep we ll. you don' t ea t
so we ll. Understand?" There fo llows
a ta le of black ma rketecring as a
way of lifc for many Sovie t ci tiLcns.
Food prices a re exorbi tant. Two
pounds of apples ca n COSL$3. a
~ui t
of clo thcs $ 150, a pair of shoes $40 .
With ta kc- homc pay o r $ 100 a
month, thc ave rage Russian ca n' t
buy necessi ti cs. cvcn though rent is
cheap and med ica l services and
ed ucat ion a re free.
' 'People havc to
~ L ea l
in Russia to
make a li ving.
lt
cos ts many rubles
to buy good mea t the butcher keeps
in thc back of his storc. Food is not
in such abu ndance in U.S.S. R."'
"When
1
wal ked into American
supermarket for firs t time,
1
couldn' t
believe.
1
have never secn so much
food in one place in my life. My
eyes wcrc so big.
1
just wa lkcd
around looking. looking. po inting,
touching."
'"Why is thc bread so bad in
Amer ica? In Soviet Union the bread
is vcry good . Hcrrin g too is bad
here.
1
mi ~~
the he rr ing f rom
Odcs~a."
" Russia is a beaut iful coun try
wi th lots of land to grow food.
1
can't und ersta nd why shortages of
cvcrythi ng thc rc. Long lines to buy
fresh fruit.
lt
is a bad govc rnment.
Th ey spoil a lovcly land."
·'Thcre's plcnty of vodka. Th e
Russ ia ns ge t ve ry dr unk, fight in thc
res taura nts. On Sunday morning
th erc\ no place to sit on thc bcnches
in thc parks so many sleeping
otT
d runk. Jewish peoplc don' t drin k
like tha t in U.S.S. R."
' 'Medicine in Russia is free. Ca ll a
docto r, he comes quickly to your
ho use. They told us only mi llion–
aires in Amcrica can get doctor."
" Med icine is free - but not so
good medicine. Doctors not trai ned
~s
in the Uni tcd Sta tcs. Pcople die
from bad medi cine in Russia. Too
ma ny pa ti cnts, ha rd to do good
medi cine there. Doc tors cos t much
money hcrc though."
" In Rus:-. ia
1
was a dentist. My
rela ti ve wrote to me from Amc rica
and
~aid
1 cou ld be rich working as
dent ist hcrc. Now
1
fi nd
1
cannot be
a denti st at all. 1 wa going to send
money to bring more fami ly to Cali–
fornia.
1
cry much at night and
worry about my family in Russ ia."
" 1
was a ped iatrician for 20 ycars.
Here I am
ju~t
an illitcrate v.oman
who can't cvcn speak properly the
la nguagc.
1
must tell my child ren
not to come. They too a re
doc tor~,
but it i:. no t possible fo r them
to
pract icc med ic ine hcre."
·• ¡
t was get ting bad for us. No
fu ture for chi ldrcn. Pco pl e don' t be–
licvc hcrc in U.S. about Sov ie t go,·–
crnment. Read Solzhenitsyn. Read
about jails, work camp:-. Thcn you'll
know about U.S.S.R."
" l t's a crazy govc rnment. They
don' t let you be Jewish, a nd they
don" t le t you not be Jcwish.
1
asked
fo r
vi~a.
They takc my job away.'"
V/TALE EFROS,
a
/over of music,
handsome c lothes, and Jewish cul–
ture escorts his daughter Angela
from the Jewish Center, where she
is /earnin g about her heritage.
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1976