Airbnb CEO Brian Cheskytweetedthat the company will be hosting 20,000 Afghan refugees globally starting immediately.
The funding comes directly from Airbnb, Chesky, and donors to theAirbnb.org Refugee Fund.
We feel a responsibility to step up.
Source:UNHCRviaThe Conversation
Already they’ve worked with partners to provide housing to 165 refugees who recently arrived in America.
This is not the first time that Airbnb has offered its housing in times of need.
Through its non-profit branchAirbnb.org, the company says that it has hosted 75,000 people since 2012.
Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free.
Brian Chesky (@bchesky)August 24, 2021
So where are those that leave Afghanistan headed?
Typically, neighboring countries Pakistan and Iran take in the most Afghan refugees.
In 2020, 1.45 million refugees arrived in Pakistan, while 780,000 settled in Iran.
Coming in a distant third, with 181,100 refugees, was Germany.
However, the current landscape is quite different.
It’s not clear how many of those people are locals.
In 2020, the United States hosted 1,592 refugees from Afghanistan.
People can donate or host via aspecial siteset up for the project.
Currently, the State Department said that, as of July, there were 20,000 applications in various stages.
The US vettingit’s basically a black box.
You put your name in and you hope the name comes out.
You don’t know what’s happening and you don’t know why it’s taking years.
From there, they will then be relocated to the United States or other countries accepting refugees.
