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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: ISRAEL UKRAINE REFUGEES
HEADLINE: Ukrainian Refugees in Israel Stuck in Legal Limbo
TEASER: While Europe, US have welcomed large numbers of Ukrainians fleeing war, many are in Israel without official refugee status.
PUBLISHED: 3/21/23
BYLINE: Linda Gradstein
DATELINE: Haifa, Israel
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricki Rosen
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA, Reuters
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO x
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: FOR PRODUCTION TUESDAY; Web desk, please post camera credit for Ricki Rosen. Please email edited script to both Linda and Ricki))
((INTRO))
[[While Europe and the United States have welcomed large numbers of Ukrainian refugees, many of them are in Israel, living in a legal limbo without official refugee status. Linda Gradstein reports from the Israeli port city of Haifa, where a group is offering them help.]]
((VIDEO: UKRAINIAN REFUGEES GET DONATED CLOTHING AND TOYS AT HAIFA CENTER, VOA))
((VIDEO: UKRAINIAN REFUGEE YULIA MOMSOVA RECEIVES FOOD FROM VOLUNTEERS, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
All of the food, clothing and children’s toys at Haifa’s Volunteer Center for Ukrainian Refugees have been donated by private citizens or Israeli companies.
The Israeli government provides only a few months of financial support for the refugees.
Yulia Momsova and her two young daughters have had to move from one temporary apartment to another since they arrived a year ago. She relies on help from Israelis, including Ukrainian immigrants.
((Yulia Momsova, Ukrainian Refugee, Female (in Ukrainian NEEDS VOICEOVER), VOA))
“It’s very difficult, but we get the support of friends and Israeli volunteers. Some of them came from Ukraine many years ago, some are native Israeli, but they’re all suffering with us.”
((VIDEO: UKRAINIAN IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES ARRIVE IN ISRAEL, REUTERS))
((VIDEO: UKRAINIAN REFUGEES RECEIVE FOOD PACKAGES AT HAIFA CENTER, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
More than half of the 40,000 Ukrainian refugees who came to Israel since the start of the war have left — either returning to Ukraine or going to Europe, where they are recognized as refugees.
While anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent can immediately receive Israeli citizenship, non-Jewish Ukrainians receive only tourist visas that are renewed monthly. They are not legally allowed to work, and those under 60 have no health insurance.
Israeli government policy has left the refugees in legal limbo, say social workers from aid organizations.
[[RADIO VERSION: Zoya Pushnikov is a social worker with HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, a group that helps new arrivals from Ukraine.]]
((Zoya Pushnikov, Social Worker - Female (in English), VOA)) ((Zoom))
“Their visa after a whole year of the war is still a tourist visa, which is very unordinary. Also, it’s hurting them because so many employers don’t even know they can in fact employ them. So, we see many women and children who are under financial stress and cannot support themselves in any way.”
((VIDEO: REFUGEE CENTER COORDINATOR OLGA KARTASHOVA WITH VOLUNTEERS, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
Olga Kartashova, the Haifa Refugee Center coordinator, says the center has 100 volunteers and serves more than 1,500 refugee families. She says the lack of legal status can lead to exploitation of the refugees.
((Olga Kartashova, Ukrainian Refugee Center Coordinator, Female (in English), VOA))
“Because of the lack of a proper legal system for them here, they are extremely vulnerable to all kinds of discrimination and sometimes even worse. We do know that they are forced to work illegally or semi-legally and employers often abuse their situation and refuse to pay them.”
((VIDEO: YULIA MOMSOVA AND DAUGHTERS LEAVE REFUGEE CENTER, WALKING UNDER ISRAELI AND UKRAINIAN FLAGS, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
Most of these refugees say they want to go home as soon as the war ends. But as long as there is no end in sight, they want a more official status that will enable them to legally work and build a life, however temporary, in Israel.
((Linda Gradstein, for VOA News, Haifa))
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Haifa
Embargo DateMarch 21, 2023 19:44 EDT
BylineLinda Gradstein
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America, Voice of America - English
