28 March 2008 Emotional reunion of ORT Belgium alumni Holocaust Survivors who were given a new lease on life by ORTs post-war programmes in Belgium have enjoyed an emotional reunion in Brussels. ORT Belgium President Charlotte Gutman-Fischgrund spent months searching for people who were still in the country half a century after receiving ORT education and training between 1945 and 1955. More than 30 alumni were joined at Mrs Gutman-Fischgrunds home by the Israeli Ambassador, Tamar Samash, World ORT Deputy President Dr Jean de Gunzburg and other guests. In addition to catching up with old friends, the evening raised money for contemporary ORT projects by the auctioning of paintings by mother and son Lynette and Amichai Chazon. The auction was conducted by art gallery owner President of Israel Bonds in Belgium Roby Neigl. It was great to witness such a gathering and to meet such wonderful people; it was very moving, said Mrs Gutman-Fischgrund, whose father attended the ORT Berlin school before enduring years in the German camp system. For some of our guests it was an opportunity to meet people they hadnt been in contact with for more than 50 years. But it also helped to raise the profile of ORT in Belgium.. At its peak, ORT Belgium operated seven vocational school and 20 training workshops for Jews who had survived the war. These gave way to evening classes and eventually only fundraising activities as the numbers of refugees dwindled. . Among the guests at the ORT Belgium function was Jacques Keisman, who spent two years of his childhood hiding in the cellar of a Belgian familys house. Rarely able to leave his hiding place, the only education 10-year-old Mr Keisman had was reading whatever books were given him. . After the liberation, Mr Keisman was miraculously reunited with his mother the only member of his family to survive and he attended high school only to find himself being subjected to antisemitism by other children. . When, finally, I arrived at ORT to learn mechanics it was like finding a new family, Mr Keisman said. It was a warm, Jewish, heimishe environment where people could understand me because they had experienced similar things to me although in those days we didnt talk about what had happened, we tried to forget it. ORT was a home to me, it gave me the possibility to be a man. I am very grateful to ORT for that experience of family after the war.. Mr Keisman, who eventually started up his own clothing company, said the reunion had been a fantastic experience, like seeing a brother or sister again after 50 years we had a lot to talk about. . Also present was Gila Dahan, whose husband Albert is the rabbi of the local Liberal synagogue. We know many people who have been through the ORT system; we think its a wonderful organisation, Mrs Dahan said. It was very, very moving to listen to peoples stories: we heard from people who had lost their families and who found it very difficult to fit into the educational framework after the war.