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One Mile South of Temple Beth El
28
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1988
New Wave
Continued from Page 26
with the staff of Jewish Voca-
tional Service to prepare the
new arrivals for work.
Like the Resettlement Ser-
vice, JVS is funded by the
Jewish Welfare Federation. In
the 1987-88 budget year, JVS
was alloted $595,000 by
Federation for use in all its
programs, with no specific
-amount set for assistance to
Soviet immigrants. However,
the increase in the number of
Russians who came to Detroit
in the past year prompted a
recent supplemental alloca-
tion of $44,500.
"We serve about 7,000 peo-
ple a year," said JVS Ex-
ecutive Director Al Ascher.
"That volume gives us an en-
tree into the job market. We
have a special task force for
Russian refugees. We like to
have them working within 90
days — the faster one works,
the faster one learns English
and assimilates."
There are some basic dif-
ferences between recent
refugees and those who arriv-
ed in the 1970s, explained
Roger Goodenough, general
placement supervisor for the
agency. The newer immi-
grants have better English
skills, more family support
and seem to become Ameri-
canized more quickly, often
because they spent their
years as refuseniks preparing
to come to the United States.
In spite of all the assistance
given to the new immigrants
by the various Jewish agen-
cies, it is a difficult transition
from refusenik to American
resident. This is made harder
by the fact that the new ar-
rivals feel isolated and are
having trouble finding jobs:
"There is a euphoria when
they first come here," said
Joanna Berger, head of the
English language program at
the Oak Park JCC. "Then
reality sinks in. This genera-
tion of refuseniks is very
well educated and were en-
trenched in substantial ca-
reers before they left Russia.
lb have so much trouble find-
ing jobs, it hasn't been easy.
It is emasculating for a father
not to be able to support his
family."
"The community rallied
around the waves of Russians
who came in the 70s," Berger
added. "There were tremen-
dous contacts in the Jewish
community. Those contacts
are not as viable anymore. We
have families who have been
here for six or seven months
with no jobs. Imagine being
dependable, skilled and
educated and going to a new
country, and finding out that
nobody wants you."
The lack of a job is the most
pressing issue facing the
Drigants. They are at the end
of their three months of sup-
port from Resettlement Ser-
vice, and are very worried
about what will happen in
the future.
"It is very important for us
now," Natalia said. "We will
have to get help from another
social program. We do not
have enough money to pay for
our apartment. We want to
find jobs and work."
The lack of friends and com-
panions is also a difficult part
of moving to a new country.
For some reason, other than
relatives, Russians who came
to Detroit in the earlier wave
of immigration in the 1970s
have not actively reached out
to the newer arrivals.
"The Russians who have
been here for awhile are
passive," Berger said. "For
the most part, they have not
gotten involved in the Jewish
community. The newer re-
fuseniks want to be more ac-
tive in the Jewish communi-
ty."
"It is important for us here
in our new life to join ac-
tivities in our new communi-
ty," Boris explained. "We
want to help refuseniks, to
"We have families
who have been
here for six or
seven months with
no jobs."
join religious activities. When
I find a job, I will have money
to help other Jewish people
like people helped us."
"We don't know a lot of
Jewish people here yet,"
Natalia said. "We don't know
any of the Russians who were
here before. I don't know why
that is. Maybe because in
Detroit, there are a lot of
separate places where Jewish
people live. We only know a
few families who came here
with us and a few American
families who have helped us.
Coming here is hard for us,
because there are a lot of new
rules of life we have to learn."
To help therii, JVS receives
information about expected
arrivals while the refuseniks
are still in Vienna or Rome,
and most of the Russian im-
migrants visit the JVS offices
within two weeks of their ar-
rival in Detroit. A staff
member who speaks Russian
will spend about an hour with
each person, learning their
educations background, work
history and expectations. The
staff may do tests to assess an
individual's skill level. Orien-
tation classes teach basics
like how to obtain a social
security number.
Russians with a wide varie-
Continued on Page 30