Jewish Volunteers Connect with Ukrainian Refugees in Poland
2022-08-05
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1A group of American Jewish volunteers who speak Russian visited Poland this summer to work with Ukrainian refugee children.
2The children were forced to leave Ukraine after Russia invaded on February 24.
3Poland has taken in more refugees than any other country.
4The children draw pictures, learn English and Polish, and work on math skills.
5The volunteers are helping the children get ready to go to school in Poland later this month.
6It will be their first time going to school in the new country.
7They finished school last year by video after leaving Ukraine.
8Most of the volunteers do not speak Ukrainian.
9So, they communicate with the children in Russian, which is also spoken in Ukraine.
10The Americans are either Russian-speaking immigrants who left the former Soviet Union more than 30 years ago or are the children of immigrants.
11Illana Baird is a Rabbi, or Jewish religious leader, from California.
12She is one of the 10 Americans working at a summer activities center, known as a camp, in the city of Warsaw. The name of the camp is Fun in the Summer.
13Baird said the volunteers feel "a sense of obligation to help those who are suffering right now."
14She said Jewish people have suffered in the past.
15Baird talked about the Holocaust, pogroms and antisemitism.
16Pogrom is a word from the Russian language used to describe attacks on Jewish communities in the 1800s and early 1900s.
17Antisemitism is a word used to describe discrimination against Jewish people.
18She said the Ukrainians living in Poland are suffering, and the volunteers want to help them feel better.
19Baird said some of the children are feeling better.
20The Rabbi noted one young girl who at first made a drawing in only black and white, because she said she missed her black dog at home.
21A little later, after hearing stories and watching a show with puppets, the little girl made a drawing in color.
22The girl said she made a pink heart for happiness.
23The summer camp will help the children get used to living in Poland.
24Many of them left Ukraine quickly and only with their mothers.
25Many men were required to stay behind and help with the war effort.
26When the children are at camp studying and playing, their mothers can look for work.
27Marta Saracyn is the head of the Jewish Community Center of Warsaw.
28She said about 30 of the 90 children in the camp are Jewish.
29Saracyn described the days at camp as "a lovely bubble for kids to be kids" and not have to worry about their problems for a short time.
30The 10 Americans working at the Fun in the Summer camp are part of a group of nearly 90 who left their jobs in the U.S. to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Hungary.
31Jewish groups in the U.S., Poland and Israel worked together to find people who wanted to help.
32The camp is at a Jewish school called Lauder Morasha.
33It started with the help of Helise Lieberman, an American who is active in Jewish life in Warsaw.
34She said there would not have been any Jewish organizations available to help refugees in Poland 30 years ago.
35Lieberman explained that Poland was home to more than 3 million Jews before World War II but most were killed by German Nazi forces during the Holocaust.
36She said the Jewish community in Poland only started to come back after the collapse of the Soviet-supported communism.
37And it looks like the volunteers are helping the children.
38Baird, the Rabbi, said one boy became upset when he found out that she was not Ukrainian.
39"Why did you come here?" he asked.
40She answered, saying: "Because you don't need to be from Ukraine to help others. You just need to be human."
41I'm Dan Friedell.
1A group of American Jewish volunteers who speak Russian visited Poland this summer to work with Ukrainian refugee children. 2The children were forced to leave Ukraine after Russia invaded on February 24. Poland has taken in more refugees than any other country. 3The children draw pictures, learn English and Polish, and work on math skills. The volunteers are helping the children get ready to go to school in Poland later this month. It will be their first time going to school in the new country. They finished school last year by video after leaving Ukraine. 4Most of the volunteers do not speak Ukrainian. So, they communicate with the children in Russian, which is also spoken in Ukraine. The Americans are either Russian-speaking immigrants who left the former Soviet Union more than 30 years ago or are the children of immigrants. 5Illana Baird is a Rabbi, or Jewish religious leader, from California. She is one of the 10 Americans working at a summer activities center, known as a camp, in the city of Warsaw. The name of the camp is Fun in the Summer. 6Baird said the volunteers feel "a sense of obligation to help those who are suffering right now." She said Jewish people have suffered in the past. Baird talked about the Holocaust, pogroms and antisemitism. Pogrom is a word from the Russian language used to describe attacks on Jewish communities in the 1800s and early 1900s. Antisemitism is a word used to describe discrimination against Jewish people. 7She said the Ukrainians living in Poland are suffering, and the volunteers want to help them feel better. 8Baird said some of the children are feeling better. The Rabbi noted one young girl who at first made a drawing in only black and white, because she said she missed her black dog at home. 9A little later, after hearing stories and watching a show with puppets, the little girl made a drawing in color. The girl said she made a pink heart for happiness. 10The summer camp will help the children get used to living in Poland. Many of them left Ukraine quickly and only with their mothers. Many men were required to stay behind and help with the war effort. 11When the children are at camp studying and playing, their mothers can look for work. 12Marta Saracyn is the head of the Jewish Community Center of Warsaw. She said about 30 of the 90 children in the camp are Jewish. 13Saracyn described the days at camp as "a lovely bubble for kids to be kids" and not have to worry about their problems for a short time. 14The 10 Americans working at the Fun in the Summer camp are part of a group of nearly 90 who left their jobs in the U.S. to help Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Hungary. 15Jewish groups in the U.S., Poland and Israel worked together to find people who wanted to help. 16The camp is at a Jewish school called Lauder Morasha. It started with the help of Helise Lieberman, an American who is active in Jewish life in Warsaw. 17She said there would not have been any Jewish organizations available to help refugees in Poland 30 years ago. Lieberman explained that Poland was home to more than 3 million Jews before World War II but most were killed by German Nazi forces during the Holocaust. She said the Jewish community in Poland only started to come back after the collapse of the Soviet-supported communism. 18And it looks like the volunteers are helping the children. 19Baird, the Rabbi, said one boy became upset when he found out that she was not Ukrainian. 20"Why did you come here?" he asked. 21She answered, saying: "Because you don't need to be from Ukraine to help others. You just need to be human." 22I'm Dan Friedell. 23Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report from the Associated Press. 24________________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26obligation - n. something that you must do because of a law, rule, promise 27bubble - n. a space that is separated from the outside world possibly away from trouble or worry 28upset- adj. unhappy or angry 29________________________________________________________________________ 30What do you think of the struggles Ukrainians face? We want to hear from you. 31We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Write your comment in the box. 33Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 34Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.