Afghan sisters land apartment, new jobs at Schnucks after escaping Taliban

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St. Louis (KMOV.com) – Six months after escaping from the Taliban and fled to America, two sisters Afghanistan rebuilt their lives on St. Louis.

In January, News 4 introduced you to Fatima and Zahra Nazari, who escaped Afghanistan with their mother in August during the US withdrawal from the country. Facebook friendship with a man of St. Charles from the previous year was their ticket to Freedom, if they could navigate Kabul airport.

We are very afraid of the Taliban will find us where we are,” said Zahra. “We were wearing a boor and they could only see our eyes. We were at the airport for 10 days and nights trying to pass.”

The two women met with St. Charles Resident Andy Bass in 2019 when he passed their village in front of the marathon. They keep in touch and bass can secure a visa for women, who spent several months at the military base before moving to St. Louis.

Now, the girls slowly began to build a new life. They recently got an apartment for themselves and their mother. They also landed jobs at Schnucks in Twin Oaks.

I never thought that we would work at a grocery store but it would be a very good experience for the first job, I really like it,” Zahra said.

The girls submitted a resume and finished the interview process before starting the job at the deli a few weeks ago. They help preparation, packages, and stock shelves for customers.

We came from Afghanistan to the US and it was very difficult because we started our lives from zero but now everything is very good,” Zahra said. “Our coworkers and customers are very kind and respectful, we really like working here.”

Schnucks partnered with the International Institute of St. Louis to help Afghan refugees secure work. Laura Freeman, Chief People Officer in Schnucks, said the company had a strong bond to the immigrant community, which came from its family founders.

Some of them came with absolutely no, some clothes on their backs, and we wanted to give them a good chance and a good start here, especially in St. Louis,” he said.

Fatima and Zahra walk to and from work almost every day and occasionally get a ride from coworkers and friends. The two women were eager to explore college choices at M.S., but admit it was complicated.

We want to continue our education from universities in Afghanistan, but are very expensive at U.S.,” Zahra said.

Zahra Fatima’s younger sister, 17, is an elite ski player in her home country, something she can’t have done since moving to the US. He enjoyed working with his sister and learned about American culture.

erything is different here,” he said. “Our house, our lives, talk, our culture, our work … everything is different. Here it’s very good, I like it very much.”