Marcos Moreno AP
Spain Afghanistan
Evacuees from Afghanistan disembark from a U.S. airforce plane at the Naval Station in Rota, southern Spain, Tuesday Aug. 31, 2021. The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America's longest war. (AP Photo/ Marcos Moreno)
Andisha Shah begins our conversation by describing what life was like in Afghanistan during the 20-year gap between Taliban regimes. “There were still explosions, but there were hopes,” she says. “People were growing so much. They had education. Women had friends. They were allowed to walk on the streets with their male friends without being asked, ‘Who are you?’ They were allowed to have options.”
It’s August 19, five days after Afghanistan’s president fled and the Taliban captured Kabul. U.S. troops have begun mass evacuations. But Shah’s oldest sister, Najiba, whose last name has been withheld for her safety, is trapped in her apartment with her three children. Shah was born in Afghanistan, but her family fled to Russia in 1998, when the Taliban gained a stronghold. In 2010, after their parents died, Najiba returned to Afghanistan to work and support her seven siblings. “She basically sacrificed her life for us,” Shah says.
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When Kabul fell to the Taliban, Shah and her six siblings watched in horror, fearing for Najiba and her children. Fleeing Afghanistan for Pakistan is likely her only option, but the expense for four visas and flights is around $7,000. The family was able to pool together $3,000; for the rest, they turned to Jessica Bueler and Susan Werremeyer of Welcome Neighbor STL. Shah, who recently moved from St. Louis to California, developed a friendship with Bueler and Werremeyer when she cooked in the organization’s Supper Club.
“As soon as we heard about the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, we reached out to Andisha to find out how she was doing and if her family needed assistance,” Bueler says. They set up a fundraiser for $4,000. Within hours, they raised $9,707. “We were shocked to see how many people went out of their way to help Andisha’s family,” Bueler says. The money was transferred to Shah, who will forward it to Najiba.
Warm Welcome
For more info about Welcome Neighbor STL, visit welcomeneighborstl.org.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page have said St. Louis could welcome at least 1,000 Afghan refugees through the Special Immigrant Visa program (SIV). Once individuals with SIVs are processed into the country, they’re sent to their “final destination,” or where they’ve chosen to resettle. Those with family or friends in the U.S. will likely resettle with or near them, but people without any personal ties here can choose from a list of 19 cities. St. Louis is No. 7 on this list.
The International Institute of St. Louis is spearheading efforts to resettle Afghans in St. Louis. From the moment individuals arrive at the airport or the front door of IISTL—or another affiliated refugee resettlement organization in Missouri—they are met with assistance. IISTL will have a furnished apartment filled with food, cookware, bedding, and more. Other tools provided by IISTL include programming around employment, small business development, social services, public school enrollment for children, health care access, English classes for adults, and additional help with entry into the community.
Najiba will still face difficulties as she tries to escape Afghanistan, but there’s hope. Says Shah, “I couldn’t believe that there are people in the world who could restore [my faith in] humanity.”
—KATIE POWERS CONTRIBUTED REPORTING TO THIS STORY.
MORE TO KNOW
Global Reach
ADDITIONAL WAYS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT
International Institute of St. Louis
Among the ways to support the nonprofit: share its job openings to ensure it has the capacity to complete resettlement work, make a monetary donation, and purchase items from its wish list, which can be found on its website.
Oasis International Ministries
This organization’s needs include volunteer time to help rehab homes used for arriving refugee families, monetary donations, and donations of furniture to fill the homes.
House of Goods—Baitulmal
In response to the Afghan refugees and families soon to arrive in St. Louis, this group is asking for monetary donations to its Sadaqa and Zakat funds, as well as toiletries, shampoo, soap, furniture, mattresses, kitchen supplies, and nonperishable food. Welcome Neighbor STL will be partnering with House of Goods to help in its warehouse. 314-833-3300.
As of press time, MICA is working with 21 people who are trying to leave Kabul. To support these efforts, the organization is asking for donations on its website, as well as to Women for Women International, CARE, and Miles4Migrants.
