The ESL class taught by Barbara Dworkin has become an important part of the students' lives in America.  Many have told both Dworkin and Sheila Tebbano, director of the adult education center that they continue to  rely on the class to overcome language barriers and need the ongoing instruction in order to better communicate in English. 

The majority of the students in this class came to the United States as Jewish refugees following the Glasnost/Perestroika of 1989.  At the time, the U.S. permitted 40,000 refugees from the former USSR to enter the US each year with white card status.  Others came without official status but were supported or sponsored by the organized Jewish communal organizations.

"Some of my students described times when there was no wood for fires and no food to eat and they had to resort to eating dried animal feces as the only source of food," said Dworkin.  "Some students tell of eating a stew made from bone buttons which they removed from clothing to eat.  They suffered from lack of water during the winters which were frigid and without snow," she added.

They all have had challenges to overcome.  While coming to the United States has changed their lives dramatically, learning a new language presented a new challenge.  While their English language skills have improved after 19 years in the U.S., the students continue to rely  on the 3-day a week adult ESL program. 

In fact, they often worry  that some day the class will no longer be offered. 

Tebbano said the students sometimes express concern that the class will be discontinued and that they won't continue to receive the ESL education and support that they find necessary to communicate.

On behalf of all the students, Zorya Dobkina, MD, a surgeon who grew up in Moscow wrote a touching letter to Tebbano who visits the class and has come to know the students.

Dear Dr. Tebbano,

We are happy to see you in our class.  Thank you for coming.  I hope that it will be interesting for you to know about our attitude towards WIEC, to you as Program Director, and to this class' teacher, Barbara.

We are appreciative of everything you have done for us, especially when we faced a challenge to the existence of our class.  Without our school, we would feel like orphans left by their parents, because learning English is a very important par to four lives.  It's difficult to study a second language when we are old.

We are doing our best to improve our knowledge, but, unfortunately, our memory is out of order.  The problem is that as soon as we stop our attempts to learn English, we become mute and deaf, helpless and depressed.

This week we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.  I would lie to express my dream that one day we will not be judged only by the number of mistakes we make on English tests, but by the content of our character and behavior as human beings.  This class is the best opportunity for us to learn how to struggle for life and liberty.

Because of the tradition of this school teaching immigrants, I would like to entitle this class, "Pursuit of Happiness."

Dear Dr. Tebbano, please continue to be our protector, as we promise to deserve your trust and efforts.

Long life to you, to this school, to our class, and to our lovely teacher Barbara!

I am writing this letter on behalf of all the students in the B'Nai Brith class.

With deep respect,
Zorya Dobkina

Tebbano said the students are an exceptional group.  She was extremely moved by the letter that Dobkina sent to her.  "The students really need us," said Tebbano who enjoys talking to each of them.

It's quite clear that the program has significantly impacted the lives of these students.  It's also clear that in addition to helping the students communicate, Tebbano and Dworkin  have taken the time to personnally get to  know the students, hear their stories and have contributed to their happiness and livelihood since coming to the U.S.

The ESL program takes places every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon.

Meet the Students

ZORYA DOBKINA, M.D.
Zorya  grew up in Moscow and practiced surgery for over 40 years. In 1941, her grandfather was buried alive together with other Jews by German fascists in the city of Smolensk.  In 1953, her husband, also a physician, was imprisoned because of a brutal outburst of Stalin’s anti-Semitic policies.  Zorya’s husband died after contracting Hepatitis B at the age of 50. Discrimination continued in Moscow and, in 1996, Zorya decided to join her son and his family in the United States. Zorya became a citizen in 2001.

FISHEL FINKELSHTEYN
Fishel grew up in St. Petersburg and earned 2 medals for his bravery during the St. Petersburg blockade during WWII.  He suffered greatly as there was minimal food, water or electricity during this time. He  clearly remembers when America sent food to Russia during the war. Fishel began working at  age 15  as a fireman on a military ship. He became very ill during the war and afterward was hospitalized for a lengthy stay. He later worked in a factory, where he was often discriminated against and taunted for his distinctly Jewish-sounding name.

SABELLA GASONOVA and KONSTANTIN SARUMOV
Sabella grew up in Azerbadjan in the city of Baku. After the fall of the USSR, she and her Armenian husband, Konstantin, suffered great discrimination due to their ethnicity (not religion).  For a brief period of time, there was a lottery system to win a green card to the United States and that was the manner in which Sabella and Konstantin were able to immigrate in 2005.

MARINA GLIKINA
Marina entered the United States  from St. Petersburg in 1996, where she was an engineer in a factory. She suffered much discrimination re restricted  admission to universities, career and practice of religion. There was only 1 synagogue for the entire city of St. Petersburg and anyone who entered it was  noted by the militia. Marina remembers the war years very clearly, especially the fact that there was no place for her to sleep in her building except on top of the stove.

YELENA GISINA
Yelena grew up in St. Petersburg, where she was an engineer. In 2005, she received a medal for defending St. Petersburg during WWII in a special ceremony in New York City.  Both of her parents were from religious backgrounds, which they tried to maintain in secret. Her father even had his own Torah at home.  Yelena remembers spending the war years hiding in various shelters that were bombed while she was in them.  Due to repercussions, she was unable to attend the one synagogue in St. Petersburg.

VALENTINA KHIRGE
Valentina, her husband, Chaim, daughter and grandchild left Kiev in 1989 and were one of the first refugee families in the Capital District.  They practiced Jewish holidays as much as they were able  in secret within their Kiev apartment.  They lost much of their family at the mass killing at  Babi Yar during WWII.  Valentina was a language teacher and Chaim was a printer in the Ukraine.

EMILY KRAEV
Emily was born in Novasibersk in Siberia. Her parents were persecuted after the Russian Revolution because they had been wealthy Jews. While in Siberia, Emily did not suffer discrimination and she went to medical school in St. Petersburg. In Tajikistan, she had a high level position in the Public Health/Bacteriology department of the medical institute. Afterwards, she and her family moved to Moscow, where she first experienced anti-Semitism and was addressed as “Zhidovka.” She was unable to teach in a high level medical institute, as she could in Tajikistan, and eventually both she and her husband (also a physician) were fired. Their son was unable to pursue his education due to Paragraph #5. 

KONSTANTIN KUZMIN
Konstantin was born in 1926 in Vashkeria, an area known for a very rich oil industry. Konstantin was a very distinguished engineer and in 1957, was invited to work in the United Kingdom for 1 ½ years.  This was VERY unusual at this period in history.  This provided him with his first opportunity to see life in the West.  While Konstantin is not Jewish, he suffered some discrimination due to the fact that his wife is Jewish.

SIMA KUZMINA
Sima was born in 1926 in Bransk, Russia to parents with religious Jewish backgrounds. She is 14 years older than her brother and was his primary care-giver when they were young.  Her father died at age 41 fighting in the Great War. Sima was an engineer in a factory in Caluga, where she met her husband.  Her children suffered from the fact that Sima was Jewish, and they were discriminated for university entrance and career promotions.

KARINA MELAMEDOVA
Karina grew up in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where she was a Construction Economist in a financial institute.  Since Jews were not permitted access to higher education, her mother bribed a policeman to change Karina’s nationality to Russian. This enabled her to pursue a professional career, however her “secret” was exposed and she was then denied further promotions. Her husband and daughter were limited in their jobs as well. Karina has clear memories of having rocks thrown at her by people on the street as they yelled anti-Semitic words at her.

BRUSHKA SHKOLNIK
Brushka was born in 1930 to a family that practiced Judaism secretly. Her father died 2 months before she was born. Brushka suffered for 3 years in a Jewish Ghetto in the Ukraine with her mother and older sister.  After liberation, she continued her education and became a bookkeeper, which was her profession for 40 years. She continued to suffer much discrimation due to the infamous Paragraph #5. Brushka emigrated to the United States in 1991 with her beloved husband, who later passed away in 1998.

SARRA SHLIZERMAN
Sarra was born in Chernovitsk where her family practiced Judaism secretly. Sarra is very proud of the family Judaica that she brought to the US from  the former USSR.  Sarra’s father went to war when she was six years old and died on the front.  Sarra, her mother and brother were forced to spend part of the war  naked in a crowded basement, where they were repeatedly beaten with sticks. Her mother was later hospitalized for the duration of the war and Sarra lived in an orphanage with her older brother. She married Arkady in 1956 and emigrated to the US in 1991.

GRIGORIY SIMKHOVICH
Grigoriy was born in Minsk in 1924 to a family who practiced Judaism in secret. He has fond memories of visits to his grandfather on the Sabbath. Grisha had 4 siblings and during the occupation, they were confined to the Minsk Ghetto. Only 4 of his 15 family members survived the war, as 90% of the city was destroyed.  He worked in an electric generator factory and for 1 ½ years, he slept in the factory next to the machines because he had no other place to sleep.  He suffered a lot of discrimination  at his job due to Paragraph #5. He married Raya in 1950 and she died at age 54.

NINA SYRKINA
Nina was born in Siberia and moved to Lipesk with her husband in 1972. Her husband, Genrikh, was an “Enemy of the State” and was beaten countless times for being Jewish. In reality, they were atheists and didn’t actively practice Judaism until they arrived in the United States. Their daughter, Julia, was prohibited from going to medical school by Paragraph #5 and Nina and Genrikh suffered continued job discrimination.

YEFIM VOLFSON
Yefim  was born  in Bobroisk, Belarus and his family practiced Judaism secretly. During WW II he was evacuated to Uzbekestan.  Most of his family members who remained in Belarus during the war were killed. Yefim was a metal worker. He met his wife, Yevgenia and married her within two months.  Their family were victims of Chernobyl and have suffered many health problems as a result.

YEVGENIA VOLFSON
Yevgenia was born in Bobroisk, Belarus and her family practiced Judaism secretly.  She remembers celebrating all Jewish holidays with her grandparents and hearing them speak Yiddish with her parents. She suffered a lot of discrimination from teachers as well as other students. Yevgenia was a practicing dentist before arriving in the United States. Their family were victims of Chernobyl and have suffered many health problems as a result.

OLEKSANDER YEVZEROV
Oleks was born in 1939 in Kiev and escaped to Kazakstan during the war with his family. He returned to Kiev in 1944 but his father, who was badly injured on the war front, was hospitalized until 1946.  All of his other relatives were killed in mass murders in Kiev. Both of his parents spoke Yiddish and were able to write in Hebrew. Oleks had difficulty being accepted to universities due to Paragraph #5, but eventually was trained as an engineer for the “exploitation and repair” of airplanes.

LYUDA YEVZEROVA
Lyuda was born in 1937 in Kiev. Although her family was not Jewish, her father was arrested in 1938 as an “Enemy of the State” and was imprisoned, where he later died.  After the death of Stalin in 1953, Lyuda’s mother received a “Rehabilitation” document that said her husband wasn’t guilty and that her husband died in prison in 1941 from pneumonia. However, this wasn’t true,  and her father was really killed by the Communists in 1941. When her father was taken to prison, Lyuda, her brother and mother were forced to leave their apartment and live with another family in a room that was 11 square meters.  Lyuda suffered growing up as the daughter of an “Enemy of the State.” She eventually went to a teaching institute and taught for 41 years.