The ºüÀêÊÓƵ area has resettled 600 Afghan refugees since 2010, and local leaders are promising to accept at least 1,000 more following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.
Amir Habibollah, 55, makes chapati bread at his Afghan Bread House in Tower Grove South on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Habibollah immigrated to ºüÀêÊÓƵ in 1984. After working a variety of jobs, he opened his business as the only Afghan bread bakery in Missouri. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
At a press conference Thursday, officials emphasized that the resettlement effort is not just a humanitarian imperative but also an economic opportunity for ºüÀêÊÓƵ.Â
Austin Huguelet reports that parallels are being drawn with the Bosnian refugees who settled here in the 1990s, filling jobs and starting businesses while revitalizing city neighborhoods.
