This spring I made a trip to Russia, driving from Poland. We have driven over the border many times in the past and have never had a problem crossing. This trip we came to the border as we always have, but we soon found that things were different. When we went to the passport station, the guard looked at my passport and glared at me. He looked up at me and said, "The United States of America; where people think they know everything. You want to be a light to the nations for your kind of democracy." Knowing it's better not to get into an argument with government officers, I just said that I am not political. He sneered at me and handed me back my stamped passport.

Next, we stopped at customs. They asked what our business was in Russia. I said I am a humanitarian aid worker, but I was just here to visit friends. The y went through the trunk of the car and found the Russian Bibles and medicines we had for distribution. The bibles had Star of David's on them. The officials looked through them and said that we were bringing propaganda into the country, and that is illegal. Then he was angry that we had medicines. If we are not Russian physicians, we have no right to distribute medicine. We were then brought into the office, and were questioned by the KGB for over three hours. They lectured me that Russia is a rich country and does not need our help. They said I should stay home and help some of the homeless in the United States. Then they turned the discussion to politics, and asked for whom I was going to vote for the American presidency. I told them I hadn't decided yet. Then they asked me what I thought of the past Russian presidents, and particularly my opinions of former President Putin. I tried to be as diplomatic as possible in regards to their questions. When we were done, they instructed us to go back to Poland, leave the medicines and Bibles there, and then we could come back. We had some friends on the Polish side of the border, so we went to them; left our parcels there, had dinner, and returned to the border. This time, the KGB had us take our van to a garage on the facility, then they removed everything we had inside and went through our things. They decided we had nothing that was contraband, so after we repacked everything they let us go into Russia. All we had to bring people was 50 blankets, as well as money to distribute. We met with some Jewish community leaders and left money for their children's feeding program. All in all it was a great trip, but it makes me wonder what our future will be working in Russia. The government doesn't want help from the west; however the Jewish people who depend on our help are a different matter. We will continue working in Russia as long as there is need.

Doors Open In Israel - Helping Holocaust Survivors

I went to Israel this past fall to see our work in Israel. In Israel, we are known as "Helping Hands Coalition." At the time of this writing we are helping up to 26,000 Jewish elderly and Holocaust survivors. They need food, money to obtain medicine, sometimes furniture, and people to visit them. When I visited them the last in Israel, I couldn't believe my eyes. The conditions people were living in were as bad as they were in the Former Soviet Union. The only way they were better off was the fact that they were not living in an anti-Semitic environment. Our work in Israel is known by many in the Israeli public, as well as by members of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament. I mentioned our work to several Israelis I had opportunity to speak with, and their response was that they were glad we were helping, but felt the Government should be doing something.

When you ask any of the people we are helping how they are doing, their response is usually, "I'm fine." But if you look in their refrigerator, they might have nothing but a lemon. They feel they can do without food, but they can't do without their medicine. In addition to helping holocaust survivors, we are also helping the children of the poor with money to pay their school expenses as well as with clothing and lunch programs.

Summer Camp 2008

Providing a summer camp has been for us a way to bring children in horrible circumstances to a place where they can get good food, and build their health. Not only do we cover the cost of the camp, but for the children's transportation as well. This summer, we are once again sponsoring children's camps in northern Poland for the children of Ukraine in the mountains of Poland in Pulavy (in the winter a great ski resort). We were pleased that the health of many of the children improved being in a healthier, unpolluted environment last year, and hope it will have the same effect this year. The children's camp will take place the end of June, and the family camp will take place the beginning of August. In addition, we are making the camp available to one of the Russian Rabbis to have his people come sometime in July. They will run their own programs. This kind of cooperation is a great way to build bridges and friendship.

UKRAINE, BELARUS, and MOLDOVA

Our workers continue to travel to the East into the farthest parts. Every time they go, they are finding more and poorer Jewish communities, desperately trying to survive. Recently our workers found a Jewish family living in a small house in the woods. They had no electricity or running water. We bought them a goat so they would at least be able to have milk for their children.

The International Money Situation

In the past few issues, I have talked about the continued weakening of the US Dollar against other currencies. The effect on our work is devastating. When I was in Poland last year, the exchange rate was four Zloty (Polish money) to the US Dollar. When I was there recently, it was two Zloty to the US Dollar. What that means for us, is that it is costing us twice as much to do the same work in Poland now than it cost us last year. This is true for our works throughout the Former Soviet Union and Israel. The problem for us, is that people are not giving twice as much money as they were before, so we have been running short on what we are able to do. I don't mean to be pushy, but if you can help us with an extra generous gift, we, and the people we help would be most grateful.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support for our work,

Michael Schiffman
Chevra USA