You've already heard me go on about the fantastic job being done by the employees and volunteers at the YEDID citizen rights center in Tel Aviv, so this week I wanted to share a couple stories of the clients they serve.
When I arrived at the center on a Wednesday afternoon, my immediate impression was that it was busy, buzzing and diverse. For whatever reason, the diversity came as a surprise. I think I expected to see only people who looked vulnerable in some way. That wasn't the case. The cramped waiting area seated every walk of life, a young man who looked like he was probably a college student, older men and women well past retirement age, and everything in between.
The first client I met was David, and if the broad spectrum of people in the waiting room caused me to question my stereotypical expectations, David certainly gave the final answer. Retired from pharmaceuticals and medical sales, David is a smart and vibrant gentleman who now lives in Ramat Gan, a suburb 10 minutes outside of Tel Aviv, with his family. The apartment they call home was bought 20 years ago brand new, and they've never lived anywhere else since. Now, private developers want to demolish the community of apartment buildings where David lives, and erect towers in their place. The developers will pay the rent at an apartment comparable to the one he has now, and guarantee him a spot in the new towers when they are erected. While most of his neighbors have agreed to the plan, David says no deal. "It's my place, I love it and I don't want to sell." Seen as a nuisance by the developers, David has turned to YEDID for assistance trying to keep his house. His concerns about the project are more than valid. What if he doesn't like the interim apartment the developers agree to provide? And with no firm completion date, why should he uproot his family for an unknown length of time? And furthermore, and most importantly, why should he leave the home he loves so someone else can make a profit? "You really need help and direction because problems are not easily solved," David says, of living in Israeli society. What he gets from YEDID is "objective honest advice that you may not get from a lawyer," he explains, because lawyers are concerned first and foremost about their profit. David makes YEDID sound like a safe haven of sorts, free from the pressures of bottom line economics that would restrict an ordinary law firm tasked with his case. He refers to the YEDID employee assigned to him as "great" and "marvelous," and today he is feeling optimistic with his plans going forward. Recently, YEDID helped him write a letter to the chief architect in Ramat Gan explaining why he doesn't agree with the planned construction of the towers. He heard back from the architect, who said he also agrees with David. With YEDID's help, David plans to continue reaching out until his voice makes it all the way to the top.
Next I met with a woman who I'll call Rachel here, because she was reluctant to give me her name. Rachel is a brave single mom who has been experiencing some difficulties related to her divorce (she did not want to go into detail which I respect). Rachel sought out a number of different outlets for help with her problem only to find a dead end at every turn. A group for single mothers eventually told her to come to YEDID. Like a lot of single mothers, I would imagine, Rachel seems tired, and her frustration was evident on her face as soon as she began talking. She briefly crossed over into Hebrew without realizing it, before catching herself and speaking to me in English again. "I hope it will be solved fast. No one told me it could be solved in a different way," she says of her previous encounters before YEDID. "They don't hear me, they don't see me. The government lawyer does nothing." Thankfully, now, Rachel is hopeful. She told me that the lawyer assigned to her, Isaac, has been beyond helpful. Her experience with Isaac has been amazing, and he has given her so many new revelations about her situation that no one bothered to mention anywhere else. One of Rachel's main points of frustration is that the help that's actually available for people in her situation is very difficult to find on one's own. "It can be so simple. It's for us, the people. Why not tell us?" Rachel went on to describe some of the unpleasant people she's had to deal with over the phone when she was just trying to get help. "They're so mean. They're not human," is her take from some of those calls, which left her in tears. "The world is round. We need each other," she says, not understanding why government officials and other people designated to help her had refused to put in the necessary work. At YEDID, Rachel is happy to have found someone who understands her philosophy - that what goes around comes around, and you get out of life what you put into it.
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