Newsletter 10 - Friends House Moscow

Friends House Moscow
e-mail: [email protected]
Issue
No. 10: with program notes for JW1e2000-April2001
Spring-Summer
2001
FHM
Governing Board:
., --
----
Baltimore YM
LauraNell Morris
Britain YM
Eleanor Barden
Patricia Cockrell
Jonathan Silvey
Peter Dyson
Friends United Meeting
Johan Maurer
Japan
Taka Murakami
Moscow MM
Victor Zubarevich
PacificYM
KayAnderson
Julie Harlow
Natasha Nelidova (jar left) and women of the Warm Home program
Philadelphia YM
Ed Sargent
An Afternoon at Warm Home
Norway YM
Erik Cleven
by Kay Anderson
St. Petersburg WG
OlgaDogina
I
.
(Warm Home is a program partly funded by FHM
to serve Chechen women aiId children who are
internally displaced families in Moscow because of
the war conditions in Chechnya.)
ex-officio
HollandlFWCC/EMES
Tony Fitt
Staff
Sergei Nikitin
Galina Orlova
US Newsletter editor
Julie Harlow
I spent an interesting afternoon at Wann
Home in January. It was cold and snowy outside,
but the school in which Warm Home gathers feels
very warm and friendly. After tea and cookies with
some women and teenagers, Dina (my interpreter
friend) and I sat in on the Chechen history class
with the group of women who needed to understand
their own history and talk about the pain of losing
homes and families in the current situation.
Then we joined the little children who
recitedand dancedand wore unique head dresses for
us. Our final meeting was with the women who
were curious to see if they could make special
Chechen costume dolls for us to sell in our
handicraft sales and we explored ideas together.
Natasha Nelidova, who has successfully raised
funds and found staff and is now beginning a
therapeutic program for the children, is much
beloved by the Chechen community she serves.
The War Continues
FHM Mission Statement
Friends House Moscow is an initiative of Friends
worldwide which seeks to encourage spiritual growth and
the development of a civil society based on mutual trust
and community cooperation. We aim to provide a stable
and visible presence in the face of rapidly changing
conditions as we express the unique faith and practice of
the Religious Society of Friends. We put this faith into
action by working for social justice based on our
fundamental belief in the presence of
God in each individual.
My most recent message from Natasha
indicates the continuing seriousness of the war in
Chechnya. She asks you to help if you can.
"On March 4 this year, we participated in
a congress of refugees. We were shocked by
eyewitness accounts of the brutality of Russian
troops. All of Chechnya has essentially been
turned into one gigantic concentration camp.
continued on page 2 (see Appeal... )
FHM's Far Flung Program
I
1\
In the last two years FHM's program has
significantly moved out from Moscow and into many
communities. Since Russia and the "near abroad" (as
Russia calls its old Soviet compatriot countries)
make up the largest single land mass on earth,
projects in a spread out program can be very far apart.
" ~
The farthest programs north are in Gatchina,
hA
near St. Petersburg. We have a CO Alternative
1\/\ .
Service effort, a Women's Crisis Center, and an
annual ecological camp there. The programs farthest
1\
Yekaterinburg
to the south are in Chechnya and Ingushetia in the
Caucasian mountains.
There we fund trauma
treatment, a woodworking workshop for building the
.
Penza
economic independence of displaced persons and a
Moscow
humanitarian program in villages of Chechnya.
FHM's farthest west effort is near Pskov,
nearly to the Estonian border. We support work
going on in an orphanage near there in Beloskoe
Uste.
The most eastern of our grants is in
Ykaterinburg, near the Ural Mountains, about 1000
miles from Moscow where a campsite for the
Conference for Forced (Russian) Migrants is located.
Moscow programs continue to be
numerous, but AVP (Alternatives to Violence
Project) has taken programs to Gatchina, Ingushetia
and Penza (about 300 miles southeast of Moscow) in
the last year.
It continues to train trainers in
Moscow and the other sites.
Between the far points are many other towns and cities where FHM supports programs. Near Krasnador and Novorossisk,
communities about 60 miles from the Black Sea, we are supporting economic development and trauma treatment for elderly forced
Russian migrants from Kazakstan. In Novgorad (between St. Petersburg and Moscow), there is a youth club developing with our
assistance and in Derzhinsk, we have CO education programs. We also helped Young Friends from Europe and Middle East attend a
spring retreat in a beautiful old country home in Borovichi, a village in the area of Novgorad.
The only other country we work in is Ukraine. In Odessa, on the Black Sea, we fund a mediation and training program that
has taken trainings to several cities in Ukraine and southern Russia.
Since FHM staff need to visit each of the programs annually for evaluation and assistance, this multi-city program requires
much travel. However, since Moscow gets so much of the.resources available in Russia, we think it essential to encourage program
development in outlying areas.
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.
Appeal for Help from the Refugee Congress in Nazran
I
continuedfrom page 1
"Civilians are kidnapped, tortured, killed without a
trial or investigation. This wave of brutality has washed over
the Russian military itself. Victims of torture are now also
Russian soldiers. Any woman is liable to be raped by a man
in military uniform. Among Chechens in Chechnya and in
the camps there is hepatitis, tuberculosis, and different forms
of cancers (the cancer rate has increased by 75 times).
"Please pass on this request for participation in this
campaign in your country. Please write letters and telegrams
to the Russian embassy, government and the president and go
on demonstrations. And begin collecting signatures to stop
military activity in Chechnya on the part of both sides and to
have international observers, including sending in a UN peacekeeping mission. These letters should also ask for the
intervention of international nonprofit organizations and other
intergovernmental organizations (OSCE, the Hague).
"At the refugee congress in Nazran, a resolution was
passed to make Chechnya a UN-administered territory.
Who could imagine that in a European country such a
"war against terrorism" would take place this way?
Our
collective silence or barely audibly murmurs thus far can only
be taken as tacit consent to this madness."
A Visit to "Little Swallow" Program in the Refugee Camps
The program called "The Little Swallow"
("Lastochka" in Russian) has a staff that works in
various Chechen refugee camps. On the day Patricia
(FHM Executive Committee clerk) and Galina (FHM
staff) visited them two play-therapists, Hava and
Milana, were working at the Aki Yurt camp in
Ingushetia and were energetically running down the
slopes of the surrounding hillsides with the children.
They all returned to a tent which they were recently
given to work from. The tent was cold and almost
empty. There were just three tables and ~ee
benches, clearly not enough furniture for all the
children to sit and work. The tent is used at different
times by two groups of children with around twenty
children in each group.
The children are usually divided into two
groups according to their age. One group is for
children from 5-8 years and the second group, 9-14
years. All four play-therapists work together with
each group 5-6 days a week for 2 hours per day. The
Swallow staff usually work at each camp for one
month and they leave their equipment (books, pens,
pencils, toys, etc.) behind when they move on to the
next camp. For this reason they had few materials to
work with at the Aki Yurt camp.
Children from both groups, forty in total,
gathered in the tent to meet Patricia and Galina. They sang, danced, and performed tales and were delighted with the dolls Patricia bOO
brought for them from England. It was obvious that it was very difficult for two play-therapists to work with such a large group of
children and after an hour they sent the younger group to play outside and continued to work just with the older group.
The children said they were pleased to be able to play and to have an opportunity to draw. The older children said they would
like to have school lessons in addition to taking part in the activities offered by "The Swallow" staff. There is currently no school in
.
the refugee camp. The parents also said they were
grateful for the work "The Swallow" is doing but
they would like their children to be able to go to
school, too. There are teachers among the
refugees but they do not have text books, pens,
paper, blackboards, tables or chairs.
Sergei Nikitin, FHM staff, also visited a
"Little Swallow" program in a camp with 170
children. He reported that the walls of their tent
had traces of rain and damp' patches but there was
a gas pipe with fire which was heating the tent. It
was very warm, even stuffy, in spite of all the
small windows open. The wooden floor was
clean enough (shoes were left at the entrance).
There were just a few pieces of furniture. It was
agreed that Yusup will make two tables and some
benches for Lastochka in his woodworking shop.
(see article Woodworking in Ingushetia).
[ There is another article about "Little Swallow"
onpage 6.J
ri
I
Woodworking in Ingushetia
I
A workshop has been established in Ekazhevo, near Nazran, to produce wooden articles for local people and for refugees from
Chechnya and Osetia who are building houses in this area. All the workers are refugees. Since unemployment is one of the major
problems in that area even among local people, to provide ajob for a refugee is a great thing. Their day has purpose and they receive a
small salary and basic food.
Yusup Mutaliev is in charge of the workshop. He is
responsible for keeping machine tools in order, purchasing
timber, finding refugees who would work at the workshop,
finding orders, supervising workers and reporting to FHM.
The workshop is established in a basement of a house
which belongs to Yusup. The house itself is still a building
site: the building has wans, roof and iron gates. Yusup
explained that the workshop has been built on land for which
he had gained permission to build his own private house. The
reason for this was apparently to avoid the lengthy bureaucratic
process involved in gaining planning permi&sion for a
business. The advantage of having people living there once the
house is completed is that the workshop and machine tools will
be better protected from theft or damage.
Construction started in the Spring of 2000 but work
was suspended in March because of frosts and later because
funds ran out - prices have gone up and Yusup was not able to
.
pay the workers. It did not occur to him that he could apply for
more. He was astonished when we told him that we would far
rather see a completed building than a pile of bricks, even if
this meant finding more money. He thought he had to manage
and even used his own money to keep things going. FHM
staff continues to work with Yusup to improve
communications and reporting so that the project will not be
interrupted again.
A Visit with Tatiana Pavlova
I
by Kay Anderson
I had a lovely lunch with Tatiana Pavlova (our first
Russian Friend) when I was in Russia this January. Her health and
energy are very good these days and she is busy with man)' projects.
She is preparing a text of writings from the history of the world
demonstrating successful alternatives to violence in conflict
situations. This is an exciting project and she is looking for funds
to allow her to pay a graduate student to work with her in the
researchand translations and to allow for a larger printing run. (If
you want to help, you may send money to FHMSA, earmarked for
Tatiana Pavlova's project and we will forward the funds to her.)
In recent years, Tatiana has been contacted by the Military
to speak at their annual Conference about issues of peace. She was
invited to speak to them this year about the "moral and human
problems of selling arms and thus increasing the number of
weapons in the world."
A year ago, Tatiana was asked to speak about the "parallel
worlds of military and peace efforts." She suggested that since they
share similar goals (an absence of conflict), perhaps they could work
together. She was assured that peace and nonviolence were taught at
the military academies. She was very curious what texts were used,
but was told that THAT information was a state secret!
Kay Anderson and Tatiana Pavlova
-
Restorative Justice Program Grows in Russia
by Kay Anderson
Rustem Maksudov of the Center for Judicial and
Legal Reformsagreedto meet with me and help me gain a
deeper understanding of how the concept of restorative justice
is developing in Russia. The complex case of a 15 year old
in Moscow is a good example of a success.
The teenager was arrested for stealing a car, joy
riding, and crashing the car. Five days after his release he reoffended. Parents were alcoholics, but he was doing okay in
school. The prosecutor wanted to incarcerate him, the usual
procedure. However, a social worker recommended a try for
restoration. The youth was hostile at first but was
eventually convinced to try counseling (including the family)
and mediation with the victim. His issues seemed to center
around being accepted as tough with important peers and
parental lack of attention. It turned out the youth had good
skills in car repairs and fixed the car he damaged. He now
works in a car repair shop with no more problems. In
addition his Mother has quit drinking and his father drinks
less.
Rustem learned about restorative justice in 1991
from the Mennonite Central Committee in Moscow which
funded the translation of the book Changing Lenses: A New
Focus on Crime and Justice
-
A Christian Perspective
.
by
Howard Zehr of Western Mennonite University. (1978).
Patricia Cockrell. FHM Executive Committee Clerk,
Rustem was working for a non-g~vernmental organization
with Rustem Maksudov
(NGO) and was fascinated by this idea. He received training and began to train others.
Last year Rustem received FHM funding for a program that was extremely successful. It accomplished 6 valuable goals:
* the development of a strong connection with a mediation group in Odessa, sharing seminars and trainings.
* training of 20 teachers from Tagansk juvenile offenders unit in reconciliation techniques
* increased learning in the advocacy and development of restorative justice programs through the courts
* increased networking with other groups such as the "Committee for Civilians' Rights"
* increased education of social workers in restorative justice
* linkage to people in Derzhinsk who want to set up a Center for Restorative Justice there.
The Center in Moscow works now with nine NGOs in other regions of Russia, giving workshops on building partnerships
with criminal justice agencies, educating about the movement and teaching mediation skills. The Center also produces a quarterly
magazine to support the developing groups.
We talked about the trends in the issue of punishment versus rehabilitation in Russia. Rustem sees them as waves of one
position and then the other. The stated position regarding young people is rehabilitation, but it is hard to change the traditional
practices of incarceration. However, the Center feels it is making slow gains in getting juvenile authorities to try this new way.
FHM Support Association and Its Relationship to FHM
Friends House Moscow Support Association (FHMSA) is an independent US non-profit organization with a mission
virtually identical to the mission of Friends House Moscow (FHM). However, tax law in the US requires that it operate independently
and decide how its funds are dispersed. It is not legal for a US nonprofit to simply send money to an overseas organization.
Each year, prior to the beginning of the FHM fiscal year, the FHMSA Board formally authorizes a sum of money (determined
by estimating the incoming donations) to be given to FHM for the operation of designated programs. The programs must be named
and accounted for to FHMSA for tax purposes.
In addition, some of the expenses of FHMSA (fundraising and newsletter production) are reflected in the FHM integrated
financial statement. FHMSA makes an annual report that describes the whole of its operations and activities and a quarterly statement
of disbursements to FHM.
FHMSA may occasionally grant funds for activities that align with the FHM mission that are not administered by FHM.
Examples include collecting donations for the Centerfor Peace and Community Development. and funding the training of FHM staff
in the US. FHMSA consults with the FHM Board any time such expenditures are requested.
-5-
Slow Movement Towards the Big Lie?
Putin's First Year
by Kay Anderson
I asked my friends in Moscow what changes they have seen since Vladimir Putin has now been in office for one
year. Their responses were very similar. although the foreigners actually felt more direct changes than the natives.
My 74 year old friend Stephaniya has always been a shrewd reader of the government's actions. She was born the
same year as the revolution so her life has been witness to Soviet life and she worked as an economist for Yeltsin in his early
years. She sees Putin as a very smooth talker who has managed to gain all kinds of unlikely support for his policies; for
instance, Solsenitzin is praising him. His talk is democratic but his actions are old Soviet tricks.
Tatiana Pavlova, our wise Quaker historian, agrees that his KGB training strongly influences his tactics. The FSB
(the new name for the KGB) is definitely gaining power in the new Kremlin. However, our English Friend Chris Hunter
whose agency, the Centerfor Peace and Community Development works in Chechnya and Ingushetia, says that putting the
FSB in charge of the war in Chechnya is not a policy change but acknowledgment of what has been so for a long time.
Valya, Stephaniya's daughter and an expert on g~nder studies, and others say that Putin jumps between the FSB, the
Kremlin and the Democrats trying to please many constituencies. He puts a lot of energy into controlling the area away from
Moscow through the governors, most of whom are now beholden to him for their seats. Another focus of energy is the
northern Caucasus. Chris is sure that if he were doing the same kind of noisy advocacy he did during the first Chechen war
(1994-95), he would be in big trouble with the FSB.
The issues with westerners coming and going and Russians leaving are much more intensely overseen than during
the Yeltsin years. Darker skinned people continue to be checked in the Metro for identification papers and northern
Caucasians are subject to harassment.
Chris Hunter and Patricia Cockrell, the Englishwoman who serves on FHM
governing Board and goes frequently to Russia as Executive Committee clerk, have had to change their visa situation and it
is much more uncertain. An American I met in Moscow said that Russians who even visit the American embassy are likely
to receive an FSB call. I tried to carry out 5 inexpensive paintings I purchased at the handicraft market and was told that it
was not possible without a paper from the Ministry of Culture. I am certain I would have been permitted to go in the Yeltsin
years: I have never heard that modern art works were controlled before.
But the biggest concern to all is the attack on NTV by the Kremlin. The intention to take over the only independent
TV channel along with other actions restricting press access, is seen as a clear plan to control the press and return to what
Tatiana named the BIG LIE
-
a severe restriction of the ability of the people to hear the truth of what their government is
doing.
As I was arriving this January, Yabloko faction (the liberal democrats) and human rights groups sponsored a
conference called "Emergency Conference in Defense of Human Rights." The issues of the Chechen war, opposition to
political parties, changes in the labor code and freedom of the press were the major areas of concern. It seems that there is
vocal organized opposition to Putin's authoritarian tendencies.
Stephaniya, for one, after all her criticisms, says she remains hopeful for democracy.
Her hopefulness encourages me.
Training Seminar-for "Little Swallow" Staff
In September a training seminar was held in Moscow for the play therapists who work with "The Little Swallow". The
distinguishing feature of the seminar was that the participants had no basic education in psychology but had extremely interesting
personal experience. The normal conditions of work in the field of psychology do not apply to their work and this had to be taken into
account at all times during the workshops.
It was clear from the first day that the participants found the seminar very interesting. They learned about the theories with
interest, but most of all they were interested in discussing practical issues they deal with on a daily basis: how to deal with
aggression, withdrawal, over-sensitivity, fights taking place during activities, children insulting each other, etc.
The trainers used a dialogue style, asking questions and calling upon the personal work experience of the participants,
facilitating discussions and leading "brain storming".
The facilitators of the workshop reported, "It was a pleasure. From the behavior of the participants it was evident that they
were interested both in the information and in the professional contact: they constantly asked question, expressed their own opinions
and were prepared to try taking the part of child, adult, client, psychologist, etc. in the role playing exercises. We would be happy to
hold another seminar for them."
-6-
Krasnodar Women's Club
[
I
......In a room
rented at a local hotel
and also in a room at
Larisa's flat, women
gather to work on
sewing projects. This
is not your typical
"sewing circle" or social
gathering.
These
women
are
forced
migrants and refugees
from Chechnya and also
from some other FSU
Republics.
And this
project,
funded by
FHM, enables them to
be usefully employed,
pass on their skills to
others, make garments
for themselves and
possibly
have
the
opportunity to earn much needed support for their families. Five of the participants work 8 hours a day and the rest work halftime.
This project was developed within a stable community of forced migrants. Larisa Gavrilova is responsible for coordination of
the whole project, including the purchase of sewing machines, renting a room for the workshop and organization of the project
council. She has gathered a good team of workers. Mrs. Salaninkina assists and has an impressive ability to arrange work, to make
good quality clothes, and to find a place from which to sell the output.
When Sergei Nikitin (FHM staff) visited in January, Mrs. Salaninkina showed him the patterns for clothes they make. She
reported that they have had some problems with selling things. Fortunately the Women's Club has now been promised a small kiosk
from which they can sell their garments.
The participating women reported that the project has improved life for many forced migrants not only in the sense of income
but also in the sense of being busy and being integrated into social life in this region. They also enjoy the work. Apart from the
sewing workshop there is someone else who is doing wood carving - he joined the project so he can sell his wares along with the
garments.
From conversations both with Larisa and with Mrs. Salaninkina, we understand that it would be of great help for the Club if
they had an embroidery machine. They said that all those involved liked the project and are eager to develop it further.
SEEKING:
Friends-in-Residence, Interns, Staff
Friends House Moscow is seeking Friends who are conversant in Russian. Staff receive a salary and a housing allowance and
should expect to serve for 1-3 years. Friends-in-Residence or Interns may serve for a period of 2 months or more with accommodations
provided (some subsistence funding may be available although both positions should be considered voluntary).
Staff should have some experience with Quaker process and decision making, general office management and bookkeeping and
have interest in the projects that fall under our mission statement. A fuller list of qualifications and a job description are available
upon request.
The Friend-in-Residence (FiR) should be a seasoned Friend with experience that could help strengthen the spiritual life of
members and attenders of Moscow Monthly Meeting by listening and by conducting group sessions on Quakerism and spirituality.
An Intern will assist staff and work under the direct supervision of the staff.
Both FiR's and Interns will be expected to support the staff of FHM by assisting in its daily running: for example, by
answering the phone especially out of working hours, welcoming visitors, and doing cleaning and office maintenance. Fund raising
experience or AVP training are an advantage.
For information or applications, write to the addressgiven on page 8.
,..,7,..,
Available from the US., for yourself or a friend
FHM Tee-shirts: only $12
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l1L
''r00
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white on colors.
Adult sizes S, M, L, XL
'f.
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postage
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spec1.a
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:>r;p::>r;p:
plus
tn the US,
Grape, Pale Blue, Gold,
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supplies;
state 2-3 and
choIces)
.~.
Of someone
cotton
$5 international.
Colors: Red, Teal Gre~n,
Deep Turquoise Blue,
0°
1-~
a donation as a gift
Logo and lettenng are in
An attractive
'11b
post card
rson(s)
WI
e sen 0 e pe
you designate stating that
a donation has been made to
House
Sturdy
dishwasher
t t th
Friends
mugs
Moscow
safe
\
teal green plastic with
white wrap-around logo,
white lid and handle.
$8 each or 2 for $15
(plus same postage
as for
shirts)
in their name.
!IHM on t/ie, ?(pI'
.~.
Mark Cary of Philadelphta has designed our new web site.
It is much improved and we will be adding articles from previous newsletters as well as the current one.
You can check out what we have so far and watch for changes at
http://www.quaker.org/fhm
Johnson's Russia List: David Johnson sends about two emails a day, including articles from a variety of Western
and Russian newspapers, reports from academics and stories from people who live there. JRL covers the latest
events, background stories, and the best of Moscow theater. He asks a modest donation to help with costs.
Email: [email protected]
Subject: subscribe
Please send inquiries, suggestions for future articles, leJters to the editor,
news of other Quaker activities in the area, requests and, of course, your
. tax deductible donations.
to: Friends House Moscow Support Association
c/o Julie Harlow
1163 Auburn Dr.
Davis CA 95616 e-~ail: [email protected]
pleasemakecheckspayableto: Friends House Moscow Support Association
return address:
Friends House Moscow
Would you be willing to:
Support Association
c/o Julie Harlow
1163 Auburn Dr.
Davis, CA 95616
receive and announce newsletters for your
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10:
*
ask your meeting to
contribute annually to FHM?
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let us know of organizationsthat may fund
specificprograms of FHM?
*
take letters or other materials to Moscow
when you go or bring them back?
Issue #10
iiif