Volume 7, Issue 9 / Elul 5764 / September 2004
"With God's help, it will be good . . . "
He looks at me somewhat incredulously when I ask him why he came to Israel. "It's our country," the slight, grizzled, dark-skinned man responds, talking slowly, as if speaking to a somewhat dimwitted child. "We used to speak of the Land of Israel, day and night . . . . . "
Gassessa Virto finally fulfilled his fantasy six years ago, when he arrived in Israel, together with his wife and five children. After two years at Givat Matos, a caravan site in southern Jerusalem operated by the Jewish Agency to accommodate the influx of immigrants from Ethiopia, the family purchased an apartment in Beit Shemesh, with the help of a generous government mortgage. While at Givat Hamos, Gassessa, whose formal education consists of five years of elementary school, mastered the rudiments of Hebrew. The ten-month ulpan provided by the Jewish Agency for Ethiopian olim -- twice as long as that provided for other new immigrants -- enables them to acquire basic Hebrew and to learn about normative Judaism. Furthermore, lectures and workshops provide an introduction to virtually every aspect of Israeli life, providing the newcomers with the tools to achieve independent lives in a modern industrial civilization.
By most standards, the Virto family's absorption would be considered successful. The children, the eldest of whom is 14, are enrolled in local schools, and Gassesa, whose previous work experience was limited to field labor in Ethiopia, found a job cleaning. But it was hard, he concedes, to support a growing family, which now includes a sabra daughter, on a cleaner's salary.
To improve his job opportunities he registered for an eight-month welding course at the Technological Training Center in Beit Shemesh operated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. "I needed to earn more money," he says. The Center, which serves an area stretching from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem, including the nearby moshavim, provides vocational training for unskilled workers in response to market demand. It is currently offering courses in computerized office skills, CNC, computerized graphics, fashion design, and autotronics.
An intrinsic component of the courses is the teaching the Western work ethic including the importance of adhering to a time schedule. "They come without an education, without professional experience," says Clara Shnitzer, the administrator at the center. "Here they make a 360 degree change in mentality, skills, and understanding. They gain self-confidence, and develop self-discipline, judgment, and motivation. They come in the morning and work and study for eight hours."
The Center initiates contact with potential employers, and sends them a copy of the curriculum of relevant courses, together with a list of students and their resumes. Gassessa was one of a number of participants in the course who recently began working at the Elkayam Metal Industries in Beit Shemesh. The company provides a starting salary of NIS 5,000-6,000 per month, a very respectable salary for blue collar workers - plus benefits. The company, whose clients include the Ministry of Defense, wants good professional workers, and past experience has proven that the Training Center delivers the goods, says Clara.
"With God's help, it will be good," says Gassessa.
Written by: Shifra Paikin
Photos by: Shlomy Ben AmiTo download this file as a word document, click here.
