ST. LOUIS — Mohammad Mosavi is glad to be in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
Mosavi, 40, arrived six months ago with his wife and five children after fleeing Afghanistan when the Taliban took over.
But on Saturday, he was getting a new tablet and cellphone, for free.
The region has taken in more than 500 Afghan refugees since Kabul fell last fall. And Saturday’s event, which will eventually serve as many as 200 refugees, is another part of the larger effort to welcome them.
Managed by the International Institute of ºüÀêÊÓƵ and largely funded by Arch Grants founder Jerry Schlichter, the initiative includes the tablet and phone giveaway, as well as the creation of an Afghan Chamber of Commerce, an Afghan community newspaper, 12-week computer coding classes, a housing fund, $15,000 grants for resettled Afghan entrepreneurs and a soccer program for kids.
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“With a typical resettlement, we have contractual obligations with the federal government,†institute President and CEO Arrey Obenson said. “But we all recognize that is not enough to make people successful.â€
Saturday’s effort got its start privately: T-Mobile reached out to the International Institute and asked how the company could help refugees, Obenson said. The effort will provide Afghan families with tablets and phones, programmed in Pashto and Farsi, plus two years of WiFi, cell and hotspot service, capable of connecting up to 10 devices — key for the Afghan families, which average more than five per household.
“It used to be that technology — mobile phones and iPads — were a luxury. But the pandemic proved it is a necessity,†Obsenson said. He’s excited about the opportunity for Afghans to access English language courses from home.
At Saturday’s event, held at the International Institute’s headquarters at 3401 Arsenal Street, 35 families got help setting up their devices before they took them home.
As Mosavi prepared to step up to the assistance table and get his new gadgets activated, his friend Najeebullah Nazary, 35, clapped him on the back, and asked him when the next barbecue would be held. Mosavi clarified that his expertise is not necessarily barbecue, but a good kabob. The two friends shared a laugh.
Mosavi said friends like Nazary made his adjustment easier, and he feels at home in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Though the location of his family’s resettlement was chosen for him, he’s happy about the choice. Along with his immediate family, Mosavi said he’s developed his own American family, here, already.
“When I arrived here, everyone was ready to help,†he said. He felt overwhelmed with the number of people and services available to help him. “Now I have my own American mom, and American brothers, my own family — I built it.â€
Before Kabul fell, Mosavi had hoped that some U.S. troops would remain in Afghanistan, and the elected government could hang on. But as soon as he realized all U.S. troops would be pulled out of the country permanently, he knew danger was imminent.
“It made me feel like I could get caught, and if the Taliban catch me, they will kill me,†Mosavi said. He called a contact he had in the states from his time working with the military and within days secured a flight out of Kabul.
Mosavi’s family fled, with five children in tow, including a newborn. They stopped in Qatar, Mosavi said, as a part of the resettlement process, then flew to Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin, where they stayed for three months.
Now Mosavi is excited to see his children follow their dreams. He was grateful he could bring his entire family all at once, and knows he did the right thing by helping U.S. forces.
“I am very proud that I worked with the right people, and the right nations,†he said, “because they didn’t leave me in danger.â€