LINGUIST List 9.1807

Fri Dec 18 1998

FYI: Help a colleague, ELF annual meeting

Editor for this issue: Brett Churchill <brettlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Magdalena Smoczynska, Help a colleague--Natasha Gagarina
2. whalen, Endangered Language Fund Annual Meeting

THIS IS IN RELATION TO MY CALL SENT TO LINGUIST List: 
Vol-9-1660. Sun Nov 22 1998. 
Subject: 9.1660, FYI: Help a colleague--Natasha Gagarina

I am sending an update on the matter which was circulated
on info-childes on Dec., 8, 1998
plus a report by Barbara Zurer Pearson 
sent to info-childes few days later
Magdalena Smoczynska

Dear Colleagues!

I am happy to give you some very good news about Anton Gagarin. Few
days ago, after the most recent bone marrow test was performed the
doctors have declared that the child is in remission. They will
continue the chemotherapy for quite a long time to make sure that all
the bad cells are killed, but they are rather optimistic. For the
time being they do not think that a bone marrow transplantation would
be necessary, but of course this can change.

Another good news is that the insurance company by which Natasha is
insured agreed to take over the costs of Anton's treatment. This means
that WE STOP THE ACTION OF COLLECTING MONEY. We hope we would not
have to start it again. Whatever money is left from what has been
collected so far will be kept to be used for Anton in case some extra
need arises or to cover his further treatment next year, after his
German insurance expires.

I want to tell you that the donations you made, whether large or
small, were of crucial importance and have contributed to secure the
financing of Anton's treatment at this extremely difficult
transitional stage. I think that we really helped this little lad to
have a better chance to live. We also supported our colleague who was
having a very difficult time.

God bless you all!
 
I would like to especially thank those of you who acted as local
organizers of help actions and who spent their time to help Anton. To
give you just a few names: Wolfgang Dressler, Sabine Klamfper, Sylvia
Moesmueller from Vienna, Austria; Giuseppe Capelli from Pisa, Italy;
Ann Lindvall from Lund, Sweden; Camilla Wide from Helsinki, Finland;
Kirsten Meyer Bjerkan from Oslo, Norway; Barbara Zurer Pearson from
Amherst (U. Massachusetts) US; Wayles E. Browne from Ithaca (Cornell
U.), US... There are other people whose help was really crucial at
different stages of the entire help action: without Wolfgang Dressler,
Wolfgang Klein and Dagmar Bittner all this could not be organized. I
am afraid I still forgot somebody...

Some of these people are Natasha's personal friends and
colleagues. But some of them NEVER MET HER (like Barbara Pearson!)
They are to be admired and thanked for their generosity and
solidarity. Many other people not only made donations but looked for
information, contacted organizations and so on... Thank you all!
Barbara Pearson will circulate her report about money collection in
America.
 
Those of you who forwarded my appeal for help to other lists and
groups of people or made your own appeals, please make other people
know these good news and call off the action of money collection.

Natasha's and Anton's photos are on my home page 

 http://www.filg.uj.edu.pl/~ulsmoczy/

(The text still has to be modified in relation to the current situation.)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU! 

 Magdalena Smoczynska


Appended is the list of people who have contacted me about Anton,
money donations etc. since the last circular was posted

From: Susan Suzman <104susanmuse.arts.wits.ac.za>
From: Mary Swift <Mary.Swiftmpi.nl>
From: Adam Przepiorkowski <adampsfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
From: Harriet Jisa <Harriet.Jisauniv-lyon2.fr>
From: Esther Dromi <dromipost.tau.ac.il>
From: Angelika Wittek <Angelika.Wittekmpi.nl>
From: Dan I. SLOBIN <slobincogsci.Berkeley.EDU>
From: Ekaterina Protassova <protassocc.helsinki.fi>
From: Evalda Jakaitiene <jakevapub.osf.lt>
From: Katarzyna Dziubalska-Kolaczyk <dkasiaifa.amu.edu.pl>
From: Giuseppe Cappelli <beppeilc.pi.cnr.it>
From: Ann Lindvall <Ann.Lindvallling.lu.se>
From: Stefanie Geldbach <stefanie.geldbachstudent.hu-
 berlin.de>
From: Ralf <Ralf.Vollmannkfunigraz.ac.at>
From: Stella Ceytlin <stlceytlin.spb.su>
From: Barbara Mueller <babsivulcan.ipf.hu>
From: Ursula Doleschal <ursula.doleschalwu-wien.ac.at>
From: Ann Lindvall <Ann.Lindvallling.lu.se>
From: LHFarmeraol.com
From: Dagmar Bittner <dabittzas.gwz-berlin.de>
From: Pawel Wojcik <wojcikplearn.edu.pl>
From: Elzbieta Tabakowska <etabvela.filg.uj.edu.pl>
From: Ineta Savickiene <Ineta_Savickienefc.vdu.lt> 
From: Wim van Dommelen <wim.van.dommelenhf.ntnu.no>
From: Vladimir Garistov <garistovinrne.bas.bg>
From: Shanley Allen <Shanley.Allenmpi.nl>
From: Chris Sinha <chrispsy.au.dk>
From: Marianne Kilani-Schoch <Marianne.KilaniSchochefm.unil.ch>
From: Alexander Brock <phimiabrzaix340.rz.uni-leipzig.de>
From: Barbara Zurer Pearson <bpearsoncomdis.umass.edu>
From: Dorit Ravid <doritrpost.tau.ac.il>
From: Edy Veneziano <Edy.Venezianopse.unige.ch>
From: Onederra Olaizola L. <fvponollvc.ehu.es>
From: Michal Legierski <michal.legierskislaviska.uu.se>
From: Esther Dromi <dromipost.tau.ac.il>
From: Hans Goetzsche <goetzschehum.auc.dk>
From: Antonio Raschi <raschisunserver.iata.fi.cnr.it>
From: E. Wayles Browne <ewb2cornell.edu> 
From: Vladimir Garistov <garistovinrne.bas.bg>
From: Joachim Grabowski <fpjgrumms.uni-mannheim.de>
From: Sigrid Adam <SIGRIDling.univie.ac.at>

==========================================
THE REPORT BY BARBARA ZURER PEARSON

Dear Colleagues in the American Psycholinguistic Community,

On behalf of Anton and Natasha, I want to acknowledge and thank
everyone who responded to Magdalena Smoczynska's stirring cries for
help. I list below the names of people who sent in checks that
allowed Natasha to continue Anton/Toni's chemotherapy while the knots
in the insurance red tape could be untangled. How lucky we are to be
in such instant contact that people of compassion (like
psycholinguists) could keep Anton from losing ground while the
finances were put in place. And now it looks like the strategy
worked. Anton responded to the treatments he would have been denied
if he had had to wait for the go-ahead from the bureaucrats, and we
can be guardedly optimistic about his future health, and indeed, his
future. We hope also that Natasha will continue in her child language
investigations, as before.

The "American" response was as follows (adopting a visiting Australian
into the group):

There were 34 gifts for a grand total of $2700 (12 of $100 or more, 3
of more than $250). The larger checks were important to help our
contribution add up significantly, but it was also heartwarming and
encouraging to Natasha to have help and sympathy from so many people,
regardless of how much they could afford.

List of Donors for Natasha and Toni Gagarin

Natalia Kondrashov 
Maria Polinsky 
Maria Mody 
Beverly Goldfield 
Catherine Snow
Dan Slobin 
Erika Hoff-Ginsberg
Eva Bar-Shalom
Gerardo Lorenzino
Letty Naigles 
Mike Tomasello 
Richard Weist 
E. Wayles Browne 
Ann Peters 
Judith Amsel 
Leslie Barratt 
Maryanne Wolf 
Reviel Netz 
Richard Ely 
Barbara Pearson 
M.C. Davis 
Edith Moravcsik 
Elaine Klein 
Eric Reuland 
Lise Menn 
Paula Menyuk 
Gabriella Hermon 
Kathryn Hirsh-Pasek 
Nan Bernstein-Ratner 
Roberta Golinkoff 
Toni Cross 
Laura Wagner 
Young-Joo Kim 
Farmer Leslie 

I might add that at the end of the "fund drive" we made contact with
the National Children's Leukemia Fund in New York
(http://www.leukemiafoundation.org). Although they did not actually
end up helping Toni at this time, they were the group that were most
flexible in offering to help along lines tailored to Toni's need. (By
contrast, many of the worthwhile groups we contacted were unable to
bend their programs to allow them to help someone outside the US, or
who didn't need a bone marrow transplant.) I would recommend NCLF as
a starting point if someone knows of similar needs in the
future. People have asked if it is too late to donate. For now,
Natasha thinks that more contributions are not needed. If any more
arrive, I will forward them to her directly, not to the
Kinderluftbruecke.

It has been a very easy and rewarding task for me to be the
intermediary between Natasha's advocate, Magdalena Smoczynska (whose
generosity and energy are legendary) and you. I'm wondering whether
my role in this could be called "money laundering"--maybe my
qualification for it was my 30 years' residence in Miami |-). I have
sent the money to Germany and given an accounting with names and
addresses to Natasha and Magdalena. If there is anything else that I
have left undone, please let me know. For example, I had prepared
printed receipts for donors, but very few people seemed concerned with
them. If you need one, please just contact me for it.

Best wishes to everyone.

Barbara

Barbara Zurer Pearson, Ph.D.
Research Associate, Project Manager
NIH Working Group on AAE
University of Massachusetts
Dept. of Communication Disorders
117 Arnold House
Amherst, MA 01003

413-545-5023
fax 545-0803

bpearsoncomdis.umass.edu

doc. dr hab. Magdalena Smoczynska
Katedra Jezykoznawstwa Ogolnego i Indoeuropejskiego UJ
Dept. of General and Indoeuropean Linguistics
Jagiellonian University
Al. Mickiewicza 9/11
31-120 Krakow, Poland
tel. +(48) (12) 6336377 ext. 302
fax. +(48) (12) 4226793
home +(48) (12) 6341037

 The Endangered Language Fund is a US nonprofit organization
dedicated to helping maintain endangered languages, documenting
endangered languages for linguistic science, and disseminating the
results of both efforts to the scholarly community and the native
language community. Our annual meeting will take place in conjunction
with the Linguistic Society of America in January, 1999, in Los
Angeles. It will begin at 8 a.m. in the LaBrea room of the Westin
Bonaventure Hotel (404 S. Figueroa St.). If you will be at the LSA, 
please come join us.


The Endangered Language Fund
Dept. of Linguistics
Yale University
P. O. Box 208236
New Haven, CT 06520-8236 USA
Tel: 203-432-2450
FAX: 203-432-4087
http://www.ling.yale.edu/~elf