|
|
February 26, 1999/10 Adar 5759, Vol. 51, No. 22
Immigrants initiate plans to launch community center
MICHELLE ACKERMAN
Staff Writer
(Left to right) Elizabeth Suleymanov, Galina Pinhasov and Tamara Babekov are supporters of the Russian Community Center. Here, they attend a recent planning meeting at Phoenix Hebrew Academy.
Photo by Michelle Ackerman
|
A decade ago, Tamara Bebekov immigrated from Uzbekistan, Russia, to the United States with her husband and children in search of religious freedom.
On their arrival in 1979, the family settled in New York City because of the large Russian community already established there, as well as the presence of the New York Association for New Americans (NAYANA), a group that helps immigrants initially by supporting them monetarily, helping them to learn English, and helping them find jobs.
They came to Phoenix last August because "the climate here is the same as (Uzbekistan's); that's why many of us are moving here now," she says.
The weather may be better, but there is no such elaborate network of Jews from her part of the world. Now Bebekov has joined a recently organized group of Russian Bucharian Jews who hope to create a Russian Community Center in the Phoenix area.
They envision a facility catering to social and educational needs by offering: courses on English language skills, Torah, Russian language and culture; a computer center and computer skills courses; a preschool; supervised children's parties; counseling for new immigrants and assistance in obtaining U.S. citizenship; and help with job placement. Once the center is established, Bebekov says, the group hopes to add a synagogue.
A Bucharian Jewish synagogue, Congregation Ahavah Torah, was established in the Valley just one year ago. About 25-30 member families meet for worship at the home of Raya and Boruchay Davrayev, 2609 W. McLellan Blvd. in Phoenix. The Davrayevs oversee operations of the synagogue.
Though the community center would be for people of all ages, the driving force behind its conception is the younger generation.
"It's for the children; we need a place for the children," explains Uhay Pinhasov, president of the group. Pinhasov immigrated to the United States in 1994 with his wife and children.
Parents worry that their children might become involved in the "bad" aspects of American society, such as drugs and alcohol, and might lose touch with the Russian culture and language, he says. "We want a place where we (can) teach them, as our parents taught us; to be loyal, to know Shabbos, how to keep it, (to know) the prayers."
Some 180 Russian Bucharian families, roughly 600 people, currently live in Maricopa County, group leaders estimate. "Bucharian" refers to the area of Central Asia, near Afghanistan, in and around Bukhara, from which these immigrants come. Bucharians tend to be close-knit Orthodox Jews whose traditions and religious practices vary from those of European Jews.
Most of the families settled near one another in north Phoenix, while the rest are scattered around the Valley. The community center would serve as a central meeting place, says Nancy Iskhakov, a group activist. Iskhakov explained that she and her husband decided to move to the United States in 1990 because they feared for their children's safety.
"We got letters telling us to move out of the house, threatening us that our children will be kidnapped or abused (if we didn't) ... all because we were Jewish." In 1995, the family relocated from New York City to Phoenix in search of warmer weather.
So far, the group has located one possible site for the center, at Missouri and 23rd Avenue in Phoenix, in a former Romanian church facility. Vacated a few years ago, the building includes a social hall with stage and benches, sanctuary and classrooms.
Group members have obtained commitments of $22,000 toward the purchase, estimated at $200,000. Some 25 to 30 percent of that figure will be needed for a down payment, Babekov says. They were turned down for a bank loan because they had nothing to put up as collateral, she adds.
The group, legally incorporated as a non-profit entity on Nov. 28, 1998, plans to fund the center's operations mostly through dues and grants.
Initial efforts to combine the center with the existing Bucharian synagogue have failed. "There is a lot of communication, but they're not agreeing with us. ... We want them to come to us; they don't want it. They're against the synagogue. They want to open a center," comments Raya Davrayev.
Bebekov says she hopes that down the road the two will be able to work out their differences and join forces.
"We're all the same people; all we need is to be together, to have a place to go," adds Iskhakov.
|
