In the 1950s, the population of St. Louis, Missouri at its peak was more than 850,000 people. Seventy years later, that figure became almost three times lower: only under 300,000 live in the city today. The problem is evident, and civic leaders intend to compensate for the decades of St. Louis’ population decrease and reinvigorate its urban areas.
Arrey Obenson, the International Institute of St. Louis’ President and CEO, spoke with confidence about the necessity to take action. “If we look at St. Louis city and the rate the population is declining, we have to find a way to bring people into the community to turn that around,” he said.
Such a way is the city’s attempts to lure Afghan refugees; to date, some 600 have arrived, and an additional 750 are expected later this year. What helps them adapt is St. Louis’ Afghan Resettlement Initiative, which relies on donations of more than $1 million and 800 some-odd volunteers, as well as support from a number of nonprofit groups. This program helps with finding jobs and housing, provides new arrivals with access to training, for instance, computer coding classes, and arranges grants for start-up businesses.
“There’s a mutual need. We have been stagnant,” said Jerry Schlichter, the initiative’s organizer and funder. “With this one-time opportunity with Afghan refugees ending up somewhere in this country, we should take advantage of it.”
Since last summer, when Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, was taken control of by the Taliban, nearly 80,000 of those who fled the country relocated to the United States. One of them is a 23-year-old Inamullah Niazai, who escaped Afghanistan last year with his wife and two young children.
Upon being sent to Washington, D.C. first and Texas after that, the family chose to settle in St. Louis as other relatives were living here. The Afghan Resettlement Initiative helped them find accommodation — a brick house in a quiet neighborhood. Furniture and food were supplied by volunteers, and someone was kind enough to provide a car.
Niazai said that St. Louis feels like home to him. Sitting outside his house, surrounded by his family – mother and father, wife, and two daughters – he is certain they are staying. “My future is good here. Anything is possible here,” Niazai said. “We are so lucky that my family can be here, together.”
Among other cities that try to appeal to Afghan refugees too is Detroit. It reached its peak in terms of population numbers in 1950, with 1.85 million living there. Currently, the population is only a third of this figure, at around 640,000.
In April, the city’s corporate leaders and community curators initiated the Detroit Refugee Network, hoping to raise money for the provision of services such as education, employment, housing, and language training. Some 250 Afghan refugees have already settled in the area.
The Center for Community Progress conducted a study which examined two districts of Detroit populated with immigrants from poor countries and having grown by almost a half over the past two decades. The results showed that the number of crimes decreased, home vacancies and tax penalties reduced, and more than a hundred new businesses appeared.
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