IISTL Launches Afghan Community Center and Chamber of Commerce
By Marisa Tesoro
On Friday, February 10, the International Institute of St. Louis launched the Afghan Community Center and Chamber of Commerce in South St. Louis.
Located in an office space previously used by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the community center will offer a wide range of services for Afghan refugees resettling in the region, including English classes, driver’s education for women, financial literacy courses, credit building opportunities, and mental-health programs. Additional activities and programs will also be geared towards Afghan children, including a talent show, sports, and arts programs.
The launch of the community center and the chamber of commerce are the latest initiatives of the Afghan Support Program. Launched in January 2022 and funded by local partners in St. Louis, the program has already led to the start of an Afghan newspaper and computer coding classes as well as provided hundreds of iPads and cell phones to new arrivals, about $500,000 in housing assistance funds, and $15,000 grants to Afghan entrepreneurs to start businesses.
“… So many people who were loyal to the American government and the American military and escaped [after the Taliban’s takeover] – they have a need for a whole new world, a whole new life to build somewhere,” said Jerry Schlichter, local attorney and founder of the Afghan Support Program. “We all know immigrants build neighborhoods and strengthen cities… And it’s an opportunity for us as a community to embrace and welcome the Afghans in a way that shows that we stand above other cities because we want to help them build their community in our community.”
While providing vital entrepreneurial opportunities, the community center also stands as a symbol of so much more to the people it will be serving.
Abbas Fazely, Intake and Assessment Coordinator at IISTL, is hopeful the community center will act as a unifying force in the Afghan community in St. Louis.
“It’s my mission along with Moji Sidiqi to build bridges between the different tribes within Afghans,” he said. “For generations, we’ve segregated ourselves from one another. The people in our country failed to stand united. Thus, we feel divided. It’s incumbent on us to use the Center as a place to unify all Afghans regardless of tribal or religious differences. We must succeed together.”
For Moji Sidiqi, the Afghan Community Development Program Manager at IISTL, the community center also stands as an opportunity to welcome and provide space for newcomers to proudly showcase their culture.
“The center is going to be a place for us to heal, for us to grow, and most importantly for us to hold onto our identity,” said Sidiqi. “I’ve been here for 23 years, and there’s been so many growing pains of feeling othered. But now, I feel that new arrivals are not going to have to suffer in those ways that we’ve suffered.”
This welcome is not only extended to new Afghan arrivals in St. Louis but also to the St. Louis community at-large as well as Afghans around the world.
“This is an open door, welcome to you all, to your families, to your children and to any Afghans, not just in St. Louis but around the country and around the world, to come and play a part in this very powerful and important initiative,” Sidiqi said.
All involved with the Afghan Support Program and its many efforts seem to understand the gravity of the situation, of the responsibility, of what it means to be a beacon of welcome, and they’ve embraced it.
“This is the story of heroic actions of the few that has led to opportunity for many,” said Arrey Obenson, President and CEO of the International Institute. “This is the story of an incredible journey, of hopelessness that has led to a new beginning. This is our story. This is St. Louis’ story.”