The East Jerusalem Project
WAC-MAAN: Hotline for East Jerusalem workers and jobless during the Coronavirus shutdown
In light of the Coronavirus crisis and its harm to East Jerusalem residents, WAC MAAN launched an Arabic-language emergency hotline, providing assistance and counseling to Corona victims regarding their employment and Social Security. Additionally, in March WAC published, in both an online booklet and on its Facebook page, guidelines in Arabic on how to file unemployment claims. In order to operate the hotline, WAC opened a dedicated WhatsApp account to which it could send scanned documents. It recruited some 10 volunteers who were trained to assist WAC staff in helping hundreds of people to receive the necessary documentation from the Employment Service and submit them to Social Security.