ST. LOUIS — Vic Johnson saved about $200 by following his go-to mechanic, Mohammad Raza Hassani, from the shop where he used to work to Hassani’s new business in south ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Hassani was fast, reliable and honest, Johnson said.
And in doing so, Johnson became part of Hassani’s journey from refugee to entrepreneur.
“I didn’t want anyone else working on my car,†said Johnson, 21, as Hassani repaired a control arm and wheel on his red Dodge SRT.
Hassani, 32, came here with his wife and two young boys last year. He speaks limited English. Still, in March, he opened Raza Auto Sales and Repairs, at 3750 Bates Street.
And now he’s the first refugee to win one of ten $15,000 entrepreneurial grants funded by attorney Jerry Schlichter, whose Afghan Support Program aims to help some of the roughly 700 refugees to come to the area amid the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan last year. At the same time, the effort aims to lure more refugees here in a bid to reverse decades of population loss in the region, perhaps even replicating successes of the Bosnian immigration to south ºüÀêÊÓƵ in the 1990s.
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“We will do this one business at a time,†said Arrey Obenson, president and CEO of the International Institute, a partner in the support program. “One family at a time.â€
Hassani beat out 29 applicants and three other finalists, including a photographer looking to open a studio, a salesman hoping to build an online carpet- and curtain-selling business, and a former chicken farmer seeking to sell halal poultry meat from local farms.
Hassani said he’ll use the grant to buy a new hydraulic jack, a device used to lift cars to allow mechanics safe access, and hire two more mechanics — he employs four now — likely other Afghan refugees. The shop has a four-door garage but only two jacks.
“This is going to open the door to almost double the business,†said Ali Ahmadi, 28, an apprentice at the shop.
Ahmadi, whose family came to the U.S. when he was 8, said he had struggled to get experience working at larger auto shops. Hassani offered him a better opportunity.
‘Courage and hard work’
Hassani never had the chance to strike out on his own until he came to the U.S.
His family left their home in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in the 1990s amid turmoil and civil war that erupted following the withdrawal of Soviet troops. Hassani is Hazara, a minority ethnic group persecuted by the Taliban.
Hassani largely grew up in Quetta, Pakistan, watching his father, a mechanic, at work. By his teens, he was working with him.
“Every day, I go to the shop,†Hassani said. “First I go to watch, then slowly I start working.â€
Hassani worked his way up to foreman, learning how to repair a wide array of cars, trucks and heavy machinery over his 15-year career, including stints fixing bulldozers and other equipment for a U.S. military contractor.
But discrimination of Hazaras was present in Pakistan, too.
After a friend of his was killed in a terrorist attack, Hassani took his family to India, then to Indonesia.
He was granted entry into the U.S. about July of last year.
“I kissed the ground and said, ‘Thank you, God,’†Hassani said.
They moved in with a relative of Hassani’s wife here in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Hassani walked down South Grand Boulevard to look for work, finding a mechanic’s shop that hired him after a trial period. He moved on to a larger auto shop in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County a month later. But his dreams were bigger.
“I know about this job,†Hassani said. “I say, if I open my own business, I can bring two, three people to work with me.â€
An Afghan auto dealer connected Hassani with two Afghan businessmen who owned a defunct mechanic’s garage. Hassani cleaned it up with money he had saved and rents the building for his business.
Checking out tow trucks and forklifts
One recent day, Hassani dropped off his sons at school before opening up shop. In a small, rundown office space, he boiled water in an electric kettle and poured cups of tea. The parking lot outside was jam-packed with cars in disrepair that he plans to fix and sell, or salvage for parts.
Haroon Ikram, 34, stood waiting. It was at least the fourth day he’d come by for Hassani’s help; Hassani had always been busy with customers.
Ikram, who came to the U.S. from Afghanistan as a child refugee, has had his ups and downs trying to start his own business. Then, last year, he opened Faith Towing, named after his young daughter.
But he wanted Hassani’s advice before shelling out $54,000 for a second tow truck, a used one he’d found for sale in Farmington.
“His approval means to me a lot because I know how good of a mechanic he is,†Ikram said.
Hassani finally had time to go with Ikram. But they made a stop before driving south, to a nearby business that hired Hassani to repair a forklift.
Hossein Agha, owner of game-builder Arcades Market on South Grand Boulevard, watched as Hassani inspected the old Komatsu model, to figure out what kind of engine pump he needed to buy. It was the second forklift Hassani repaired for Agha, who met Hassani shortly after he arrived in the U.S.
Agha knows what it takes to make it as a small businessman. He built his arcade game manufacturing company over decades after coming to the U.S. from Iran in the late 1970s.
“There’s plenty of people,†Agha said, “who are here years and years and they cry about how they don’t have money or they don’t have this or that.â€
There’s plenty of money to be made, he said. If you want to work.