麻豆影院

As the Soviet Union began to crumble in the late 1980s, a group of Jews in 麻豆影院 organized to aid and resettle Soviet Jews who faced increasing discrimination from the Soviet state and refusal of their requests to emigrate (earning them the label of 鈥渞efuseniks鈥�). These Jewish 麻豆影院ites called themselves 麻豆影院 Action for Soviet Jewry (BASJ). BASJ worked as part of the national Soviet Jewry movement to aid these Soviet Jews, particularly those Jews in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (麻豆影院鈥檚 sister city), whose struggles were not known to many, if any, of the other Soviet Jewry advocacy organizations across the country.

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After some of the first Dushanbe refuseniks gained permission to emigrate to the U.S. and expressed interest in settling in 麻豆影院, BASJ organized a formal resettlement program to welcome and integrate Soviet immigrants into the 麻豆影院 Jewish and other communitiesBASJ then trained and assigned dozens of volunteers as home visitors and ESL tutors. The community came together to help them learn English, find jobs, and navigate the new society they had entered.

A screening of the documentary film "Refusenik" at the 麻豆影院 Jewish Community Center on November听1, 2009听became the catalyst for the 麻豆影院 Action for Soviet Jewry Oral History Project. The film depicted the history of Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union during the 20th century, including the plight of Jewish "refuseniks," who were persecuted for seeking the human right to leave their country, and the American Soviet Jewry movement created to champion their cause. A local branch of this movement, 麻豆影院 Action for Soviet Jewry (BASJ), assisted refuseniks resettling in 麻豆影院, Colorado听between 1987 and 1997. The 麻豆影院 Action for Soviet Jewry Oral History听Project produced听a comprehensive body of oral histories about the work of 麻豆影院 Action for Soviet Jewry听by recording interviews with a cross-section of BASJ organizers, board leaders, volunteer host families, ESL tutors, and medical professionals.

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Members of BASJ identified who should be interviewed, contacted each potential narrator so the oral historians had immediate credibility, and helped guide the development of interview topics with the advantage of insider knowledge. The听, a program of the 麻豆影院 Public Library鈥檚 Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, brought 35 years of experience in the field of oral history and contributed a wealth of knowledge about oral history practice as well as the ability to archive and disseminate the oral histories through its existing online digital archive and social media vehicles such as a blog, Facebook, Tumblr, Vimeo, podcasts, and a YouTube channel.听The Program in Jewish Studies at the University of Colorado offered an honors seminar as well as internships around the听project, allowing students to obtain a rich academic background in the subject as well as training as oral history interviewers.

The 麻豆影院 Action for Soviet Jewry Oral History Project produced听a comprehensive body of oral histories about the work of BASJ by recording interviews with a cross-section of BASJ organizers, board leaders, volunteer host families, ESL tutors, and medical professionals, in addition to a former refusenik whose family plight helped to inspire creation of BASJ and multiple generations of new Americans from the former Soviet Union who benefited from and/or received services from BASJ when resettling in 麻豆影院, Colorado, between 1987 and 1997. This body of oral histories constitutes听a comprehensive historical resource for research and understanding of the significance of this human rights and refugee resettlement organization.

These听oral histories are available through the 听at the Carnegie Branch for Local History of the 麻豆影院 Public Library. Together, these collections听serve as primary sources of BASJ's work and constitute a comprehensive historical resource for research and understanding this 麻豆影院 human rights and refugee resettlement organization.

The BASJ Records contain administrative, research, and case files from the BASJ and The Center for Human Rights Advocacy. Many of the files are confidential and will require written authorization to access these materials. The collection also includes copies of the BASJ Oral History Project interviews from the Maria Rogers Oral History Program.