SHATIL and State Comptroller’s Office Man Immigrant Hot Line

February 9, 2008

Where do you turn if you’re a Russian-speaking immigrant having problems with social security, taxes, neighborhood cleanliness or any other matter? For two hours at the end of January, you could call SHATIL’s hot line for immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) and speak in your native Russian directly to Ido don Yichie, director of the southern office of the State Ombudsman, part of the State Comptroller’s Office. Dozens of immigrants phoned in with problems, many of them economic in nature. Some senior citizens hadn’t gotten the reduction in electric bills due to them, other callers had consumer complaints or problems related to the local authorities or the Ministry of Absorption. SHATIL’s Russian Media Specialist, Evgeny Zadiran, along with a Russian-speaking staff member of the Ombudsman’s office, helped translate the calls. 

Left to Right: Ido don Yechie; SHATIL’s Evgeny Zadiran and Ombudsman
staffer Dina Kaufman participate in SHATIL’s Russian language hot line

“No question was left without a response,” Evgeny said. “The Ombudsman promised that every complaint would be examined and would receive a response.”

The session was part of an ongoing series of SHATIL-sponsored hot line sessions for Russian-speaking immigrants.