AIRBNB OFFERS TO TEMPORARILY HOUSE AFGHAN REFUGEES

Up to 20,000 Afghan refugees will be offered temporary housing by Airbnb. This was announced by the company’s CEO Brian Chesky on Twitter.

According to Chesky, the company has been partnering with resettlement agencies to find suitable housing. Hosts who are offering their homes for free or at a discounted rate will be matched with refugees.

The costs involved will be covered by Airbnb or through contributions made to its associated non-profit Airbnb.org Refugee Fund.

Business Insider reports that thousands of Afghan refugees have evacuated the city of Kabul amid the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. White House officials said on Monday that the US had evacuated, or facilitated the evacuation of, 37,000 people since August 14, the day before the Taliban entered Kabul. It’s not clear how many were Afghan nationals.

The mass evacuation by local residents and international diplomats followed the withdrawal of the United States troops. While the entire withdrawal project is not completed yet, the deadline of 31 August 2021 is looming.

Following the evacuation by the largest group of US troops, the Taliban took control over the city of Kabul. Hundreds and thousands of Afghans raced towards the city’s airport with the hope of making it onto one of the flights that escorted them out of the country.

Image credit: Sky News