Primili smo od Claims conference slijedeće pismo o najnovijim pregovorima sa vladom Njemačke koja je omogućila izvjesno povećanje potpore za osobe koje su preživjele Holokaust, a koje žive u Centralnoj i istočnoj Europi.
Preživjeli u ovom dijelu Europe . koji se nekada nalazio iza "Željezne zavjese" , počeli su primati pomoć Claimsa i drugih židovskih organizacija tek nakon pada Berlinskog Zida i to u umanjenom iznosu nego "preživjeli" u Zapadnim zemljama i Izraelu.
Stoga je ova odluka u neku ruku ispravak te nepravde, iako se radi o malom povećanju za već mali broj preživjelih, u veoma kasnim životnim godinama i sa velikim potrebama.
Udruga preživjelih Holokausta u Hrvatskoj se godinama borila i dokazivala potrebe naših članova i ovo je također jedan od rezultata tih nastojanja. Tome su doprinijeli i predsjednica WF Stefanie Salzer i predsjednik EUAS-a Max Arpels Lezer, članovi glavnog odbora Claimsa, a sudionici Konferencija koje smo oranizirali u Zagrebu
i njihova suradnja s Melitom Švob.
Pismo izvršnog sekretara Caimsa Grega Sneidera donosimo u originalu.
Dear Melita,
We are very pleased to inform you of the important results of our most recent negotiations with the German government.
Our agreement resulted in
increase in 2019 for social welfare services funding
for Holocaust survivors....
Even though the number of Holocaust survivors is unfortunately decreasing, the Claims Conference has spent considerable time with the German government
explaining the increased needs of elderly, poor and disabled survivors.
In addition to the
funding increase for social welfare services,
the negotiation this year resulted in the following:
• Article 2
and Central and
Eastern European Fund (CEEF
) pensions: Over the next thirty months, the pension amount will increase , will commence on January 1, 2019.
• Child Survivor Fund: The eligibility criteria for this fund has been liberalized. The length of time child survivors need to have been in hiding or living under false identity was reduced from six months to four months.
This year, the negotiations took place at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. ...
Roman Kent
and
Marian Turski
- both members of the Claims Conference negotiating team and survivors of the Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz
-Marian described his personal experience of being deported,
and Roman spoke about Auschwitz and the horrific conditions he was forced to endure. ..
We would like to extend a special thank you to Ambassador Eizenstat,
who has devoted decades to helping survivors and the results of
his work are tremendous. ...
Many communities and partners helped behind the scenes
, quietly,
to explain to the German government the importance of supporting
survivors in these final years. We are deeply grateful to all of them
along with our network of agencies that literally span the globe.
And of course, we are grateful for the dedication and commitment of our Claims Conference staff. It is thanks to all of you that we are
able to deliver this
small measure of justice that our survivors so deeply deserve.
Best wishes,
Greg Schneider
|
|
|
The Claims Conference team during negotiations with the German government.
Pictured are Claims Conference Executive Vice President, Greg Schneider, Special Negotiator, Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat; Co-Chair, Roman Kent and Ambassador
|