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Apartments for refugees: Airbnb launches emergency program
Photo: LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
The accommodation portal Airbnb wants to temporarily provide free accommodation for up to 20,000 Afghan refugees.
The company boss Brian Chesky announced on Twitter.
The situation of refugees in the US and elsewhere in the world was "one of the greatest humanitarian crises" of the time, he wrote.
The offer is financed by the company management itself and through donations.
In doing so, however, you have to rely on the "generosity" of the hosts, explained Chesky, and Airbnb will only pay for the offer.
On Twitter, he asked interested landlords to contact the platform if they would like to offer shelter to an Afghan family.
The company did not provide any information about the length of a possible stay.
Offers in case of natural disasters
The accommodation portal has been offering its hosts the opportunity to temporarily offer their accommodation for a good cause free of charge since 2012, for example in the event of natural disasters or the escape from conflict areas.
The program was launched in response to Hurricane Sandy when more than 1,000 people in New York needed shelter.
Last weekend, the company said it had already found temporary accommodation for 165 people who fled Afghanistan.
According to the US government, around 50,000 foreign and Afghan citizens have fled Afghanistan via Kabul airport since the Taliban came to power.
AFP / rai