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Phoenix hotel helps dozens of Afghan refugees with jobs

“Their personalities, professionalism, the demeanor they have is really a great fit," said Erin Flothmeier at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown.

PHOENIX — Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in August of 2021, which sent tens of thousands of Afghan professionals streaming out of the country.

One of them was Aziz Safi, an accountant from Kabul who says he’d been working with the US Embassy before it closed.

“August 25, 2021, is the day I left Afghanistan,” Safi remembers. He left for the airport straight from his job and didn’t have time to bring his family or necessary documents. He says he spent five days in the Kabul airport trying to get his wife, six children, brothers, and parents inside with him.

“I couldn’t go out, and they couldn’t come in,” Safi said. He made the difficult decision to leave without them. He eventually made it to safety in Texas, but he had no family, no job, no documents, and no idea what came next.

It just so happened that Erin Flothmeier at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown was looking for an accountant. Flohthmeier said she had previously worked with a refugee group, Lutheran Social Services, and when she got Safi’s resume from the group, she interviewed and eventually hired him.

“Aziz was our first hire,” Flothmeier said. The Sheraton has since hired more than 40 Afghan refugees.

“Culturally, I feel like they’re a very good fit with the hospitality industry,” Flothmeier said. “Their personalities, professionalism, the demeanor they have is really a great fit.”

Flothmeier said the Sheraton has had trouble in recent months finding employees, and many of those employees did not stick around even after being hired.

“They’re thrilled to be here. They’re grateful. They’re loyal,” Flothmeier said. “Out of the 40-plus that we’ve hired, I believe only two have left, and that’s an unusual number for hiring recently.”

The job has allowed Aziz Safi to find his way in his new country while supporting his family back home in Kabul.

“I miss them a lot,” Safi said.

He said he is working on getting the rest of his family out of Afghanistan to join him here in Phoenix.

“It’s a hope for us for the future, to live here with our family,” Safi said

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