Report from Tel Aviv University on “baby warehouses”

The report, titled “Mapping the developmental conditions in the “baby warehouses” – pirate nurseries in which children of migrant workers and asylum seekers in Israel stay” was written by Dr. Yael Meir and Prof. Michelle Slone and published by Tel Aviv University.

Read the report in Hebrew here

Pirate children’s nurseries of the foreign community, “baby warehouses”, appeared in the headlines because of tragic circumstances at the beginning of 2015, after the death of five babies who were staying in them. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) and collaborating organizations established an ad hoc committee in order to seek an urgent solution to the difficult conditions in these nurseries. A government decision was taken to transfer funding in order to establish safe and suitable structures for the children. Nevertheless, the situation on the ground has not yet changed. And thousands of babies and infants from the community of the asylum seekers and migrant workers remain in life endangering conditions.

Dr. Yael Meir and Professor Michelle Slone from Tel Aviv University, with the help of the Association for Civil Rights, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and UNICEF Israel, have composed a comprehensive report, the first of its kind, which maps the conditions in the nurseries. The findings of the survey point to the fact that the baby warehouses are characterized by very difficult physical conditions when it comes to care (high number of babies in proportion to caregivers). There are also serious safety issues and a lack of educational and developmental conditions suitable to young infants. The results of the research underline that the situation is grave, putting thousands of babies and infants in danger. The results reflect the emergency situation, which demands an immediate and comprehensive structural solution. The urgent intervention of government ministries is necessary together with the collaboration of civil and organizational instances in order to amend the conditions in the baby warehouses and save the infants that spend time there.

The report praises the activities of UNITAF, which is working to establish alternatives to the pirate nurseries. It should be pointed out that the family units of UNITAF are run in close collaboration with the Catholic Church and the Our Lady Woman of Valor Pastoral Center in south Tel Aviv. The family units are run under the supervision of UNITAF together with the personnel of the Catholic Church and receive most of their funding from the Church. As the report says (p. 16):

“Today, UNITAF runs three day care centers for infants and babies up to the age of three’ three after school programs for children from three to six and a number of family unit nurseries. The workers, who come from the migrant community, work with very high standards under close educational supervision and accompaniment of social workers and educational counselors. The structures of the nurseries correspond to the standards that are habitual in Israel and the children receive educational programs suitable to their age and nutrition. Therefore, the children who are in UNITAF environments receive an optimal environment, devoted physical care, fitting nutrition and an educational program that corresponds to their needs. The UNITAF model provides a suitable alternative to the pirate nurseries and at the same time produces an ideal model for the community regarding the way in which the community itself can act. At the same time, in order to provide a comprehensive structural solution there is the need to establish other structures that can accommodate the children.”