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'No time to waste': Airbnb to host 20,000 Afghan refugees for free
About 270,000 Afghans had been internally displaced since January, according to a UN refugee agency estimate, taking the total uprooted population to over 3.5 million.
Amid the worsening humanitarian crisis emanating from the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, vacation rental company Airbnb pledged to house 20,000 Afghan refugees for free. In a series of tweets, Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb, announced the company’s decision to host the Afghan refugees, hoping other business leaders get inspiration to do the same.
“Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free,” tweeted Chesky, adding that they could not do this without “the generosity of our Hosts.”
“The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S. and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up," he wrote. “I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There's no time to waste."
About 270,000 Afghans had been internally displaced since January, according to a UN refugee agency estimate, taking the total uprooted population to over 3.5 million. A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told a media briefing last week that Afghans who may be in danger after the Taliban's takeover “have no clear way out.”
“While widespread fighting has decreased since the takeover of the country by the Taliban on Sunday, the full impact of the evolving situation is not yet clear. Many Afghans are extremely anxious about what the future holds,” the UN refugee agency said in a statement released after the briefing.
The UN agency has also called on the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan to keep their borders open in the wake of the evolving humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.
