ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Some of the first Afghan refugees to arrive in St. Louis touched down Friday and immediately encountered a typical American travel experience: They couldn’t find two of their bags.
But after the week they’d just had, which began on one of the last flights out of Afghanistan before the Taliban insurgency toppled the U.S.-backed government, they weren’t complaining.
“It’s very nice to be here,†said Mohammad, who declined to give his full name out of concern for family he left behind. “We really appreciate the U.S.’s support.â€
Six days after the fall of Afghanistan, tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the Taliban are beginning to make their way toward new lives in American cities, including St. Louis. Local officials say more than 1,000 Afghans could eventually arrive here, and already leaders are talking about a repeat of the Bosnian immigration that saw thousands move here, fill jobs, start businesses and revitalize city neighborhoods.
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They’ll need to get settled before living up to any expectations, though.
The International Institute of St. Louis handled that Friday night. As soon as institute staff learned the family would be coming, they started work on short-term lodging.
That can be difficult with hotel rates up and the housing market hot, but this time relatives of the newcomers already living here offered an assist.
Over the course of the next 90 days, the institute will need to help the family find permanent housing, get adults connected to jobs and children enrolled in schools.
The institute also works to connect refugees with English classes, health care checkups and mental health counseling.
It’s a challenge for an agency still trying to staff up after lean years when the Trump administration restricted refugee resettlement.
International Institute President Arrey Obenson said Thursday his staff is already stretched, and leaders have made clear they’ll need additional support before the crisis is over.
The more community support they get, the better they can serve, said Arindam Kar, who chairs the institute’s board.
“We have a good system in place that provides the holistic support refugees need,†Kar said. “We don’t stick them in a hotel room and say, ‘Good luck.’
“We want to deliver this sense that they are part of the community and they’re welcome here,†he said.
Mohammad and his family stepped through the C gates at St. Louis Lambert International Airport around 7:30 p.m. Friday night. He and his children were in shorts and jeans, his wife in a long dress and head scarf. They met Institute staff, picked up the rest of their bags and waited for family.
Mohammad, an information technology specialist who worked on projects for the Afghan defense ministry, said they started the week flying to Qatar from a Kabul airport open to the public and controlled by a U.S.-backed democratic government.
“The next day, the airport was closed,†he said.
They spent most of the rest of the week flying around the globe and standing by at a military base in Virginia, filling out days of paperwork, before catching a couple more flights that brought them here.
ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ worry about relatives they had to leave behind and the difficulties of getting them out now. The Taliban control access to the airport in the capital, and it’s hard for anyone to get past them, let alone women and small children. But the family is holding out hope.
And as for his family here, he has two things in mind.
“The U.S. is the land of opportunity,†he said. “We want a good education for our children and a bright future.â€
