• Migration Assistance for Argentine Jews
• Resettlement program for Colombian refugees

 - Ecuador

• Psychosocial Assistance for Colombian refugees

From Communities in Crisis to Communities on the Rise:
HIAS Migration Assistance for Argentine Jews

Program Overview
For Jews, few countries have been in greater turmoil in recent years than Argentina, where economic and political instability threaten the fabric of Jewish life in once-stable communities.

To help Argentine Jews live in safety and with dignity, HIAS created a multi-faceted program called From Communities in Crisis to Communities on the Rise, which provides migration assistance for Argentine Jews. The goals of this program are to:

• support aliyah;
• develop additional legal migration options for this population; and
• support Jewish communities around the globe who wish to provide resettlement assistance to Argentine Jews during this unprecedented crisis.

Aware of the plight of Argentine Jews still abroad, and in an effort to enrich their communities, Jewish community leaders from Italy, Brazil, Portugal, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Ireland, Australia, and several Jewish communities within the United States have sought HIAS' assistance in facilitating the migration of these Jews to their countries.

HIAS In Action
To successfully provide migration assistance to Argentine Jews and resettlement communities, HIAS:

• screens applicants for the program and distributes bi-lingual migration information;
• liaises with government representatives having authority for immigration programs in destination countries. HIAS also works with Jewish communal leaders in the origination and destination countries to ensure their support for the program and their cooperation in both receiving migrants and assisting them to settle and succeed in a new country;
• coordinates efforts in destination countries to receive and integrate migrants through locally hired, part-time resettlement representatives with strong links to the Jewish community.

To facilitate migration to the U.S., HIAS also offers visa application assistance to Argentine Jews eligible for U.S. employment visas who cannot afford private attorney fees.

To learn more about immigration opportunities through U.S. employment visas, click here.

If you are a U.S. employer or a Jewish Vocational Service looking for highly skilled, motivated professionals from Argentina and other economically troubled Latin American countries, please click here.

If you are seeking migration assistance through HIAS' Argentina Program, please click here (in Spanish/en español).

Resettlement Program for Colombian Refugees

Since fall 2005, HIAS has been carrying out a resettlement program in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for Colombian refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked HIAS to get involved due to its experience with resettlement and its program in Ecuador assisting Colombian refugees.

In order to prepare for arrivals, HIAS works to identify housing for the individuals. Upon arrival, the refugees are met by HIAS staff and are shown their accommodation and given an orientation. They are escorted to medical appointments and the children are enrolled in school. The adults are informed about employment possibilities and work with the Israeli-Argentina Mutual Association (AMIA) to identify opportunities. HIAS does everything it can to welcome the refugees to Argentina to ensure their resettlement is successful. Besides helping the refugees with basic needs, HIAS works closely with other organizations in the community to get others involved in the program, which provides additional resources for its clients.

Ecuador

Psychosocial Assistance for Colombian refugees

Due to the decades-old Colombian conflict, there are more than 250,000 displaced people in the Colombian border regions, and in Ecuador more than 25,000 Colombians are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). After being forced from their homes and surviving threats and violent attacks, the refugees arrive to Ecuador suffering the effects of severe trauma. In order to help the refugees overcome symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, so they can move forward with their lives, HIAS established a program in 2003 to address their mental health needs.

HIAS’s Psychosocial Initiative for Colombian Refugees in Ecuador has three primary objectives:

1) to provide direct psychological services to survivors of torture and trauma in individual and group settings;

2) to offer therapeutic, community-based workshops, such as literacy training, recreation groups for children, parent workshops, that address the needs of refugee survivors attempting to integrate into their communities;

3) to increase the capacity of Ecuadorian service providers and refugee agencies assisting this population through trainings by HIAS psychologists.

Ultimately, the goal of the Initiative is to improve the durable solution options for this refugee community, preparing individuals for integration into their Ecuadorian host-communities and/or for a safe and voluntary return to Colombia when that is feasible. When HIAS counselors determine that local services or physical protection are insufficient to meet the needs of the survivors of torture or trauma, HIAS advocates to UNHCR and third countries for resettlement, using its expertise in the international refugee resettlement system.

Since the program’s inception, HIAS has seen the benefits of its services as its clients have begun to recover. Improvements or success have come in different forms: some refugees have found jobs in Ecuador and are integrating into society, some require less medical assistance and many are committed to obtaining an educational degree. Some have been resettled to third countries and many maintain regular contact with the HIAS staff that assisted them in Ecuador. The fact that there have been more referrals generated by the increased word of mouth about the program among refugees is testament to its effectiveness.