metro

The Russians Are Coming

Wayne State students assist
Russian-speaking clients at Yad Ezra.

Emell Derra Adolphus
Special to the Jewish News

I

n the client waiting room of the Yad
Ezra kosher food pantry in Berkley,
ticket No. 17 is called out over the drone
of chatter and is next for food assistance.
There is some discussion among gathering
clients, as "siem nadtsat"— Russian for 17
— is repeated among the huddles of peo-
ple; then, a smiling woman steps forward
holding the matching ticket in hand.
It was at the peak of the United States
and Soviet Union's competitive Cold War
when we were warned: the Russians are
coming, the Russians are coming. However,
when Yad Ezra opened its doors in 1990,
the Russians had already arrived, giving the
food pantry a niche in the Metro Detroit
Russian-Jewish community that has creat-
ed a language barrier between people who
need help and people who want to help.
"For about 20 years, we have had a large
Russian population because there were
mass waves of new immigrants coming
from Russia and Ukraine. And they were
the bulk of the people in our community

that needed assistance,' said Brooke Lipsitz,
client and volunteer coordinator at Yad
Ezra. "Only in the past five years have we
seen a lot more Americans coming due to
the economy!'
Anna Yakov, who identifies as Azeri, was
a pediatrician in Soviet Azerbaijan before
she immigrated to America with her hus-
band in 1992. She has been receiving food
assistance from Yad Ezra since then.
"We are very glad that we came to this
great country': said Yakov, 80. She explained
that although she is Jewish, she is not
religious because she was not allowed to
practice her religion or speak her native
language, Azerbaijani, while Azerbaijan was
a part of the Soviet Union. As a result, she
reads and writes in Russian.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in
1991, ending the Cold War, it started a mass
immigration of people from former Soviet
Union countries looking for a better life.
"Conditions in Uzbekistan were not
good after the Soviet Union was destroyed:'
said Vladimir Rajevski, who also speaks
mostly Russian. Raised in the capital of
Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Rajevski and his

wife followed
their daughter
Volunteers Addie Levine, Carmelo Gonzales and Amina Mhanna
to Michigan and
found Yad Ezra
ing its Slavic studies program students to
through the help of other immigrants.
practice their conversation skills on native
"Every family has a different reason why
Russian speakers and lend a helping hand.
they come to here. Right now it is very
"Sometimes it can be nerve-wracking
unstable in their countries and people like
to work with the clients. There is such a
some stability," said Rajevski. "Everybody
diverse mix and not many of them speak
has a different reason:'
Russian [similar] to the way I have been
Rajevski explained, although he speaks
learning it at Wayne State,' said Anastasia
little English, that through meetings with
Howell, a WSU Slavic studies major and
other clients at Yad Ezra, he was able to ask
regular Yad Ezra volunteer.
for help.
"Many clients [at Yad Ezra] are Ukrainian
A quick browse of the bulletins in the
and know Russian as a second language,
hallways of Yad Ezra shows clearly that the
influence of the Russian language-speaking making their accents difficult to under-
stand."
clients does not go unnoticed. There are
Howell explained that although it can be
often two sets of announcements — in
rewarding and difficult to understand the
English and Russian.
needs of the Russian-speaking clients, she
"The language is so drastically differ-
imagines it to be even more difficult for the
ent," said Lipsitz. "I have even tried to learn
client who does not understand English at
some basic Russian words, and it is so
counter intuitive. I think that is what makes all.
"I have to remind myself that these
it the hardest."
people — many of them elderly — must
Wayne State University has made the
be under a lot of stress:'
best out of this language barrier by send-

For information, referrals and access to all older adult services call

ONE NUMBS

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The Agencies of the

MUM

THE CENTER

20

July 12 2012

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Jewish Family Service

of Mei ropolitan Detroit

t—N N Jewish Federation
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JEWISH SENIOR LIFE

