Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb Brian Chesky (File image)
Airbnb will house 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan globally as people are evacuating after the Taliban took control of the country, said Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, as he called their displacement and resettlement one of the biggest humanitarian crises.
The initiative will begin from August 24, Chesky said.
“Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free,” he tweeted on the day.
In a series of tweets, the CEO said, “The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up.”
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The company will pay for the stay of these refugees, said Chesky. However, he asked for help from hosts to make this happen. “While we will be paying for these stays, we could not do this without the generosity of our Hosts. If you’re willing to host a refugee family, reach out and I’ll connect you with the right people here to make it happen!” he said in other tweets.
For this initiative, the company worked closely with Airbnb.org, NGOs, and partner organisations on the ground to “support the most pressing needs,” he further said.
With this, Chesky hoped that other business leaders would also get inspired to do the same. “There’s no time to waste,” he added.
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Meanwhile, India brought back 78 people, including 25 of its nationals and a number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from Dushanbe on August 24, a day after they were evacuated from Taliban-besieged Kabul to the Tajik city.
With this evacuation, the number of people brought back to Delhi reached over 800 since August 16 when the first group was airlifted from Kabul, a day after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital city.
