ST. LOUIS COUNTY — On Tuesday afternoon at ºüÀêÊÓƵ Lambert International Airport, Ajmal Arazem waited for his luggage with his wife, son and six daughters.
Arazem used to work as a security officer at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, he said through a translator. He and his family fled days after U.S. troops withdrew and the Taliban seized control. They first flew to Qatar and then, in September, to Wisconsin. His arrival in ºüÀêÊÓƵ was the end of a 16-week journey.
“My main goal is, my kids will study and be in good schools,†he said at the baggage carousel in Lambert’s Terminal 1.
When the first refugees left Kabul, many went to U.S. military bases or to ally countries to be processed, but the massive effort to resettle families in the U.S. hit delays.
Now, three months after the fall of the capital, more Afghan refugees have begun to arrive in the ºüÀêÊÓƵ region. On Tuesday, about 35 were expected to land at Lambert, for a total of perhaps 100 to come this week, according to the resettlement agency and immigrant services center the International Institute of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
People are also reading…
“While we were anticipating this wave to come in, it didn’t really start until the last couple of weeks,†said Arindam Kar, chair of the board at the International Institute.
Kar said that about 125 refugees had arrived in ºüÀêÊÓƵ prior to this week. He now expects 50 to 100 will land at Lambert each week through the end of the year.
The International Institute said in August it could resettle as many as 1,200 Afghans in the next fiscal year, nearly double the amount it had accepted since 2010 and a substantial addition to the existing population, which members of the community said could number in the low thousands.
The institute is contracted through the Department of State to help refugees settle in the region. They meet people at the airport, arrange temporary housing and perform health and language assessments. They also help the new arrivals with everyday tasks such as going to the bank and the grocery store.
The organization tries to help refugees find employment and permanent housing. The latter has become especially challenging with the real estate crunch, Kar said. The group is working with ºüÀêÊÓƵ and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County to identify apartments that fit the refugees’ needs.
Under normal circumstances, the organization might receive a week to 10 days’ notice before a family arrived. Now, it is often given just six or 12 hours.
At the baggage carousel on Tuesday, Arazem’s children played. His daughters watched the suitcases roll past and felt the metal slats of the conveyor belt with their hands as it whirred around. The family’s possessions were in their backpacks and in six duffel bags piled up by the carousel.
Arazem has a back injury and wants to get healthy and work. More than anything, though, he wants his kids to be able to study at good schools.
A family of seven arrived later in the afternoon. They had been traveling since mid-August, said the father, who declined to give his name. They had spent most of the past two-and-a-half months at a military base in Indiana.
They were greeted by local family members at the carousel. The groups exchanged hugs and handshakes.
“I’m so happy right now,†the father said.
