JDC takes you behind the headlines of the crisis in Ukraine

As we have all witnessed in the past two weeks, following the annexation of the Crimea, pro-Russian protests and activities has intensified in the eastern parts of Ukraine. Pro-Russian activists stormed and captured district and municipal administration buildings and state security offices. The Jewish population is also concerned by increasing number of incidents which have anti-Semitic language and appearance, where some of the incidents are bringing back the memories of past times of terror and persecution.

In Donetsk, an official-looking document was circulated, calling on Jews to register with the Nationalities Commissioner and pay $50 or lose their citizenship and face deportation. We have talked with people in Donetsk who confirmed receiving this pamphlet, which was distributed by four people outside of the synagogue. The leaflets were handed to the Jews going out of the synagogue after the service. The Donetsk rabbi has also confirmed it. The SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] was informed about this incident and they told the community not to take this seriously. However, in the state of general disorder in the region, the police also said they cannot do anything to prevent it. Quite a few members of the community believe it is a provocation aimed at starting inter-ethnic conflicts.

On March 27, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) adopted a bill aimed at preventing a financial catastrophe of Ukraine. One of the paragraphs of this bill sets a 7 percent VAT [Value Added Tax] for medicines and other medical products. Ukrainians have not yet paid VAT while buying medicines. We are analysing the implication of this bill for our clients.

In the Crimea anxiety is present and increasing among elderly people who have started receiving pensions in Russian rubles at postal offices. The lines are long and the amount of cash is not sufficient in all the locations. Many of the stores do not accept Russian currency yet. Neither Ukrainian banks nor ATM machines are working. In Simferopol there is only one bank that works but people start to get in line from 5 a.m.

Most grocery stores and supermarkets have enough food products in stock; the choice of imported goods is shrinking. Prices differ in different locations. In most locations prices have gone up by 25-30 percent as compared with Feb. 1.

Most pharmacies have a regular stock of Ukraine-produced medications but the prices for them are increasing steadily. The choice of imported medications is getting smaller. At the same time, Simferopol notes increase in complaints associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among Hesed clients due to general feeling of anxiety for the last several weeks. Sevastopol and Kherson note a 100 percent increase in prices for some medications.

Our Netizigim [representatives] and employees in our four Ukraine offices and in more than 30 Hesed organizations are continuing to work night and day to ensure the contingency of our operations and the security of our clients and people. A situation room was organized in the JDC Dnepro office headed by Yoni Leifer. The situation room receives ongoing information on the situation in the region. The information and updates are being sent by the contact people JDC has in all of the local cities and towns. With the help of this network of contact persons, JDC can easily reach every staff person or client.

Yoni Leifer and Mickey Katsif, our Netzigim in the Eastern part of Ukraine have also traveled extensively in the past few days to learn the situation firsthand and to ensure that all the needs of the clients and the Heseds are being met. Some of the roads are not safe for travel, with increasing number of armed people in the roads and streets. Some of the traveling was done by train service which is still operating in Ukraine and considered much safer than using inter-city roads.

Israeli specialists (psychologists and social workers) who are members of the Coalition of Therapy and Trauma in Israel, traveled to Kiev to hold training and support sessions for Hesed caseworkers. Forty caseworkers from Kiev Hesed and 18 caseworkers from other Heseds took part in the sessions. There were also organized sessions for 18 homecare workers who continued to visit Hesed clients living in the center of Kiev even during the time of shootings. A special meeting was organized with the JDC Kiev office team to discuss the latest events in the country and help employees to cope with the stress. It was decided to create a hotline for Hesed clients and for this purpose caseworkers were given communication tools and guidelines for answering clients’ phone calls and providing them with emotional support. This project is sponsored and coordinated by JDC through the emergency funds we received from our partners. We are expanding the project to support other regions in Ukraine.

The Israeli specialists also had a meeting with Ukrainian psychologists who worked on Maidan (Kiev City Center) in order to find out their own needs and monitor the situation in Ukraine. When they return to Israel, they will share the information with their colleagues in the Coalition and together will devise a plan for potential future assistance as part of a nonsectarian IDP project.

I want to thank all of our partners who demonstrated excellent leadership and partnership and provided us with the additional funds and assistance in these uneasy times in Ukraine.

We are all grateful for our staff and employees in Ukraine and elsewhere who are doing their best to ensure the safety and well being of the Jewish individuals and communities throughout Ukraine. These people are the actual manifestation of Global Jewish Responsibility making sure that no Jew is left behind.

OFER GLANZ is the JDC FSU Regional Director