A conference of foreign Jewish immigrants who came to the Soviet Union to settle in Bira Bidjan, the Far Eastern region where an autonomous Jewish unit is to be established at the end of this year, was convened for the purpose of dealing with reports of conditions in Bira Bidjan and the situation as it really is.
While the conference acknowledged the difficulties being experienced by the Jewish immigrants from foreign countries, it condemned the reports published abroad to the effect that they are starving and are being devoured by mosquitoes. The delegates admitted the existence of “unhealthy tendencies prevailing among the immigrants,” ascribing them to lack of adequate housing facilities.
Bira Bidjan, the conference asserted, is experiencing difficulties just as is any other section of the Soviet Union. “Although the difficulties were increased this year and a shortage of food resulted from the floods which destroyed the crops, our living conditions are not worse than those of other workers in the Soviet Union,” the conference asserted.
The conference concluded on the note that “we did not come to Bira Bidjan to search for golden fortunes. Realizing the obstacles, we are nevertheless prepared to live through difficulties in order to achieve a better and healthier tomorrow.”
The resolutions were adopted by representatives of immigrants from the United States, Belgium, Germany, Argentine, and others totalling in all former nationals of 18 lands.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
