The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the United States and other countries has been one of the largest humanitarian problems of our decade. App-based Airbnb, a lodging rental company, offered to step up to help the Afghan refugees who arrived in America. In fact, they originally began housing 20,00 refugees, but have since increased the number to 40,000! This donation of housing has been provided by Airbnb, who will pay the hosts for the lodging while the refugees get resettled and find new homes. Airbnb stated that the refugee stays are being funded by the Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky, as well as donors through the Airbnb website’s refugee fund.
Airbnb has reported that 5000 hosts have offered to provide free and discounted stays to Afghan refugees so far. Mattie Zazueta, an Airbnb spokesperson, said in a statement: “Airbnb.org’s focus is making sure that refugees have safe, comfortable spaces to live during their first days in a new country. While, of course, securing permanent housing for refugees is critical, resettlement agencies would also be the first to point out that the challenges to securing long-term housing are complex and dependent on a number of factors.”
Helping the people displaced by the chaos in Afghanistan find new homes and get resettled in new areas is enough to make a big difference, and Airbnb should be commended for this effort.