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SAVING JEWISH LIVES AND TRADITIONS

The East European Jewish Heritage Project

Travel

More than a Destination

Belarus is more than a destination, it is an insight, an insight into the living history of East European Jewry. It is a unique combination of the past and present which allows the visitor to literally step between the lifestyles of the twentieth and the nineteenth centuries. Minsk is a modern city rebuilt from the almost total destruction of the Second World War. Within an hour's ride into the countryside, however, you can visit shtetls much like the ones our family came from. You can see and experience the past as a living legacy.

Each month we will highlight a heritage travel destination in the Republic of Belarus. In this first edition we offer basic travel advice, which will be regularly updated, and a few strong opinions, . If you have any questions or suggestions please CONTACT US.
Anxiety

Look, there’s no point in denying this. Whatever we say here is going to cause someone, somewhere to call us KGB agents or apologists for what they want the world to believe is a Stalinist dictatorship in need of a boycott. There is a lot of disinformation spread abroad about Belarus by various people with an assortment of axes to grind. And, of course, there is the snide juvenilia of Minsk in Your Pocket. While Belarus is unquestionably a politically and economically troubled country neither of these factors have a practical impact on the visitor.

We get letters and email messages nearly every week asking us if it is safe to visit Belarus or whether the planned five day holiday is likely to turn into a twenty year career path detour as a restroom attendant in a gulag because someone carelessly forgot to remove the Gideon bible from their belly bag before trying to insinuate their way through customs.

This seldom happens.

Other frequently asked questions are:

Is it safe to drink the water?

Will I glow in the dark from Chernobyl fallout like an x-ray technician at a Tijuana discount dentist?

Will envious natives drawn, like sharks to a hemorrhaging tuna, by the sun reflecting from the lens of my Sony Ultrasonic High speed Video Toothbrush rob me in broad daylight as I navigate my way along the crumbling pavements of Minsk?

Will representatives of the intriguingly costumed and heavily armed gendarmerie harass me and ask to see my ‘papers’?

Are Belarusians, like the fauna of the surrounding countries, rampant anti-Semites?

Is there anything to eat?

All of these questions can be subsumed to the more general query: Will I die if I go to Belarus?

Reassurance

The above concerns are groundless. Belarus is one of the safest countries in Europe in which to travel. We have had literally hundreds of guests and students visit Belarus on our tours and programmes and no one has had any significant difficulties. Virtually all have written to us afterwards and described their visit as the ‘trip of a lifetime’, ‘rewarding’, and ‘memorable’. Many have returned, drawn back by the sense that in some way they are ‘coming home’.

Perhaps the greatest attraction of Belarus is the Belarusians. They are unstintingly helpful and hospitable. While the inhabitants of Russia, Poland, the Ukraine and the Baltics have not, in recent memory, distinguished themselves by their tolerance of minorities, Belarusians have a long history acceptance and integration. This attitude is extended to visitors from the West, especially Americans.

And, should you wish, you can drink the water (but your best bet is the vodka)..

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And now, we hope, some useful information

Visas

Perhaps the single most irritating thing about traveling to Belarus occurs before you even leave home. Obtaining a visa. A Belarusian visa is produced in much the same gritty and inscrutable way as a pearl is produced by an oyster. Both the visa and the pearl are born of irritation.

Here’s the drill:

1. You request an official letter of invitation from an individual or host organization.

2. The individual or host organization prepares a formal letter of invitation.

3. The individual or organization submits the letter to the appropriate authorities for authorization. The letter may not be submitted for authorization more than thirty days in advance of the intended date of arrival.

4. The period of gestation before authorization is produced is between ten days for a letter submitted by an organization and three weeks for an individual. Since an invitation can only be submitted thirty days in advance of the date of arrival, letters submitted by individuals can result in anxiety .

5. Once the authorized letter is received by the party issuing the invitation it may be posted, faxed, or scanned and emailed to the recipient.

6. The recipient must then obtain a visa application form from a Belarusian Embassy or Consulate. Usually the form will be faxed or posted to you. It is a good idea to ask for an application well in advance of requesting the letter of invitation. In most Western countries there is a Belarusian Embassy in the capital city. In the U.S. there is also one in New York. Use the one in New York. If you have any questions about the form you can Email the EEJHP

7. Once the form is complete you must bring or send it along with the visa fee, two passport size photos (from a machine), the letter of invitation and your passport to the Embassy or Consulate. The visa will be issued and affixed to your passport. Different Embassies appear to charge different fees for different levels of service. The faster you want your visa the more it costs. We are compiling the different tariffs and will post them here once they are verified.

Tips:

· On the application form specify a longer period of time for your visit than you plan. If you are going to be in Belarus from the 15th to the 20th of the month apply for the 10th to the 30th. This will avoid any problems if you have to extend or delay your stay. It gives you flexibility. Make sure the party inviting you has the extended dates so they can be used in the letter of invitation.

· On the application you should describe the purpose of your trip as ‘tourism’

· Make a copy of the letter of invitation. It will not be returned to you by the Embassy or Consulate. You will, however, never be randomly stopped and asked for your ‘papers’ as can happen, for example, in France.

· Make several photocopies of the identity page of your passport and of the visa. Leave one copy at home with friends or family.

· If all of this seems too much with letters of invitation there is another way. If you are going to be staying in hotels and will be booking in advance we can issue you a voucher in 24 hours. The charge is usually $20.00 (U.S.). Contact us about travel

A simple solution: The East European Jewish Heritage Project is JewishGen's Belarusian partner in its 'Shtetlschlepper' programme. If you are located in the United States or Canada and are interested in either a group trip to Belarus or independent travel the EEJHP strongly suggests that you take advantage of their excellent service:

http://www.jewishgen.org/shtetlschleppers/
phone: 1-713-940-0605
fax: 1-888-539-4362
e-mail: shtetlschleppers@jewishgen.org

Please feel free to contact the EEJHP directly if you have any travel questions or require any special assistance: Email the EEJHP or use the form.

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