By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
One of the first things Rob Horwitz noticed when he arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina last month was how well people were dressed. Yet he and 170 other participants in a nationwide United Jewish Communities mission did not travel to this cosmopolitan world-class city to shop. He went to see the Jewish community.
With the collapse of Argentina’s economy, many of these fashionable people can no longer afford to eat.
Horwitz went on a mission sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle so he could help spread the word to the Northwest about the problems in this once-affluent community. Horwitz, who for the past 10 years has run a company called Directions on Microsoft, had never visited Buenos Aires before. The trip opened his eyes to economic hardships that most people in our own community could never imagine.
Life has become very difficult for all but the wealthiest of the Argentinean population over the past two years. There is a widespread lack of clarity on unemployment numbers. According to a report released by the JDC (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee — one of the Federation’s overseas partners) half the country is currently unemployed. People who have pesos in the bank — which are virtually valueless, anyway — have been shut out of those funds. Well over 100,000 small businesses have had to shut their doors, including more than 70 percent of all Jewish-owned businesses. Official statistics put unemployment at around 20 percent (compared to the staggering 6.4 percent in Washington State) — more than 300,000 people have lost their jobs this year alone — but in talking to people, Horwitz says the unofficial number is closer to 35 percent. In addition, the JDC reports, 1,800 people seek help from them each month. Whatever the numbers, the situation in Argentina is dire.
Horwitz says that at first glance, especially on major thoroughfares through Buenos Aires’ downtown, it’s hard to tell anything is wrong.
“It’s a place of bizarre contrasts, because I could arrange a tour of Buenos Aires, and you could come back and say what’s the problem?” he says. “If you look with a more critical eye, you can see homeless people. You can see quite well-dressed people picking through garbage.”
When they visited a JAFI (Jewish Agency for Israel — another of Federation’s overseas partners) office that facilitates aliyah, Horwitz says he was surprised by how many people choosing to move were elderly. He notes that when they leave their homes, for “someone in his early 90s, it really speaks to how bad things must be, but it also speaks to the level of adventure. I give these people an incredible amount of credit.”
The mission also visited Jewish day schools and community centers. Horwitz says the quality of Jewish education, even in current conditions, is excellent.
“It’s laughable what their budget is compared to here, probably about $1,500 [per year] to educate a kid, and facilities were really nice,” he says.The schools are oftentimes the only place where children can get a square meal each day.
In Argentina, everyone’s lifestyle has changed. Families are moving in together to cut down on housing costs, and many rely upon $20 vouchers to feed them for a month. Everybody is making sacrifices. Horwitz says he wouldn’t be surprised if 20 percent of the Jewish population is having trouble with food and shelter. Even liquidation of assets won’t help the community, because inflation has devalued the peso so severely.
“They used to be middle class,” he says. “They might have a car, but no money to put gas in it. They can’t sell the car because it’s not worth very much.”
And Horwitz says it will likely get worse before it gets better. He notes that with government accounts plundered, social services have dried out. Since bank accounts were frozen early in the crisis, changing pesos into dollars was out of the question. He says he didn’t see any solid plans for Argentineans to regain footing. He notes that exporting natural resources might be a solution, but imagines that there would be severe protesting by the Argentineans were that to happen.
It’s not like there has been a shortage of goods, either. Horwitz mentions that there is still fruit at the fruit stands, and some of the larger department stores remain open.
Pride has kept many people from seeking help until they reach the point of desperation. While many handle their problems graciously, it’s not always easy for them. Federation money has helped with that burden, however.
Through direct giving and the Israel Now emergency campaign, the Seattle Jewish community raised approximately $48,000 to help Argentina’s Jews.
Horwitz says he hopes that by telling others of these people’s plight they may be inspired to give on their own. “The amount of money you’d write off here as being insignificant,” he says, “could help so much.”
To explain the Argentinians’ appreciation of their visit, Horwitz mentions a conversation between a member of the mission and a Buenos Aires man. “Sitting at a breakfast,” Horwitz says, “one of the locals asked ‘Why are you here?’” The man on the trip answered, “‘to check up on family.’” When the local man asked who his family was, the answer was,“You.”
“You could see in his eyes, he was stunned,” Horwitz continues. “He was really stunned. That was not the answer he was expecting.”
Horwitz recommends that people visit Argentina to see for themselves, and to meet the people. “I definitely recommend people vacation there,” he says. “They could use the dollars. I wish Argentines well. It’s a shame. They’re really friendly.”
For information on how you can help support the situation in Argentina, please contact David Sabban at (206) 774-2258 or [email protected].