New Delhi: American lodging company Airbnb has come forward to help Afghan refugees and will house at least 20,000 of them globally for free.
Airbnb CEO, Brian Chesky made the announcement taking to Twitter and called their displacement and resettlement one of the biggest humanitarian crises.
“Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free,” he tweeted on the Tuesday.
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.
The Taliban swept across Afghanistan this month, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities, including Kabul, in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.
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.