Courtesy of Welcome Neighbor STL
Jessica Bueler and Mawda Altayan are already engrossed in conversation by the time I arrive at Meshuggah Café. I recognize them instantly—Bueler, with her long blonde hair, and Altayan, with her black hijab neatly draped around her face. I sit opposite Altayan’s 2-year-old daughter, who looks up at me with big brown eyes. I smile at her as she nuzzles into her mother for protection.
The journey that led Altayan to this café on a blustery winter day was long and arduous.
She and her husband, Mohi Aldeen Alhomowi, fled Damascus, Syria with their 4-month-old son when Altayan was pregnant. They lived in Egypt for three years, where Altayan gave birth to two daughters. When they landed in New York for resettlement in the United States, they learned that they would no longer be moving to Pennsylvania; their new home was a place called St. Louis.
“It was very hard,” says Altayan.
When the family arrived at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, there was no one there to greet them, so they sat and waited. Altayan says they were tired and they didn’t speak any English. “I cried,” she says.
Adjusting to life in St. Louis has been difficult; the family had to learn how to navigate public transportation and find familiar foods at the grocery store while learning a new language.
In their almost two years here, Altayan’s family has moved to a new apartment in Florissant. Her husband has found work at a local factory, and her two oldest kids attend school at a local mosque. Altayan is learning English with the help of Duolingo, YouTube videos, and a teacher who comes to her home twice a week.
Altayan says life in St. Louis is “very nice because it’s much safer—and because of Jessica.”
Bueler, a University City resident and owner of HSB Tobacco, wasn’t planning to start Welcome Neighbor STL. In November 2016, after hearing that four Syrian refugee boys were beaten outside their St. Louis home, just a mile north of her shop, Bueler organized a winter coat and toiletry drive for refugee families. The turnout far exceeded her expectations.
“It just exploded," she says. "An army of people came with so many donations, I tripped over boxes and bags of things. We couldn’t even move around.”
After the items were organized, people wanted to do more, so Bueler invited them to help distribute the donations and visit with the refugees.
Courtesy of Jessica Bueler
Jessica Bueler and Mawda Altayan
The initial group has grown to almost 600 members, but they still operate in the same organic way. “Everybody contributes differently," says Bueler. "Some people don’t have time but have money. Some people don’t have money but have time. Some people have coats or shampoo to donate."
Welcome Neighbor STL provides emotional and social support by pairing refugee families with American families. In recent weeks, posts on the group’s Facebook page have ranged from needing to find a washer and dryer for a refugee family to finding an Arabic translator to accompany a Syrian family to a cell-phone store. They have planned picnics, a Thanksgiving potluck, and a Christmas party that even had an Arabic-speaking Santa and presents for all the children.
This gave way to another idea. “Every time we got together, the food was so amazing, so we decided to try a supper club,” says Bueler.
Courtesy of Welcome Neighbor STL
Supper club dinners are hosted at local businesses or at someone’s house. The patrons pay to attend a dinner prepared by women refugees. All the proceeds go to the women who prepared the meal.
Altayan flips through pictures on her phone as we talk about the dinners. She shows me artful displays of grape leaves, hummus topped with olive oil, perfectly square baklava, and falafel. “My husband helps me,” she says with a grin.
Bueler says Altayan “has taken the supper club to a whole new level.” Altayan recently prepared a dinner for 75 people and has even started cooking for local festivals.
“Our whole focus has been empowering women to earn an income in an environment where typically they couldn’t," says Bueler. "They’re sharing their culture and traditions with people here. It’s bringing people together around good food and conversations.”
The next dinner is scheduled for January 21 from 6:30–8:30 p.m. at Meshuggah Café.
