This is one of those things where lots of people, though judging from the thread maybe not as many as I'd expected here, will applaud. A wealthy, successful, American company is "stepping up" in a humanitarian crisis caused by the United States' misguided (to put it mildly) aspirations for a country that ultimately had little interest in western-style governance. And so it goes, these Afghan refugees will enter into these countries, and have a place to stay and recover from the trauma that they've assuredly experienced in the frantic exit from their home country.<p>Eventually, though, they'll have to actually live in the countries they reside in as, one has to assume, permanent residents. I helped sponsor my interpreter's visa years ago when I finished my time as an infantry platoon leader in Afghanistan. He landed in [undisclosed location] and has a stable job driving for a trucking company. He hates it here. He wants to go back. Do you want to know why? Because we let our girls go to school, because there aren't enough Muslims around him, and because he misses his home country, warts and all. He left because he was afraid that the Taliban would kill him, and he was probably right. He's probably still right. We rarely talk anymore, which is sad, but that's the reality. There's a wide range of views that interpreters held, and to be sure mine is absolutely not meant to be a representation of everyone coming from there.<p>I don't really have a point other than to say that resettling refugees isn't as simple as "oh just give them a place to sleep and some cash and the rest will take care of itself", like it's via osmosis or something that they inculcate the values and culture of the new "home" they find themselves in. This isn't software you can install, it's much harder than that.
Airbnb is available in Kabul, had no idea..<p><a href="https://www.airbnb.com/s/Kabul--Afghanistan/homes?tab_id=home_tab&refinement_paths%5B%5D=%2Fhomes&flexible_trip_dates%5B%5D=october&flexible_trip_dates%5B%5D=september&date_picker_type=flexible_dates&query=Kabul%2C%20Afghanistan&place_id=ChIJSW0ePExp0TgRKUQheDVH3-s&flexible_trip_lengths%5B%5D=one_week&source=structured_search_input_header&search_type=autocomplete_click" rel="nofollow">https://www.airbnb.com/s/Kabul--Afghanistan/homes?tab_id=hom...</a><p>Google reviews also interesting, nice restaurant in Kandahar..<p><a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/AFGHAN+SHINWARI+RESTAURANT/@31.6321556,65.7637336,16z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x3ed671baa0e28837:0x2759b21c9042aa75!2sKandahar,+Afghanistan!3b1!8m2!3d31.628871!4d65.7371749!3m4!1s0x3ed677deab7e71dd:0xbe74bf6a7b9eadf0!8m2!3d31.6313348!4d65.7667298" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/maps/place/AFGHAN+SHINWARI+RESTAURANT...</a>
It's extremely generous of you to do this for foreigners, why not do this for the homeless here?
I think we are going to regret letting these thousands and thousands of Afgans into our country. Maybe one of these thousands has a friend or cousin who you never know
could want to harm the US...
And now they have an in......
Would you prefer to stay in a hotel or a refugee shelter? That's what this campaign says to me at the gut level. Might be nice and altruistic, but it's kind of lousy brand marketing.
This is nice marketing.<p>I doubt he has lined up 20.000 properties yet who
want to do this. So that will be fun distribution:<p>1 to Alaska. 3 in Portland, 1 in Colorado Springs.<p>On a more serious note. this is not a promising idea,<p>Nobody has any real idea who these people are.
What sorts of trauma they may have experienced?
What their medical, psychological, or sociological needs are.<p>There is also the tragic issue that inevitably there will be a
few among them who mean to do harm to a country that occupied
them for 20 years.<p>Random AirBnB hosts who probably mean very well have no training
or practice to do something like this. And once it gets real
they will not want to either.<p>It is not a hippie utopian meeting of the minds and "all is chill"
It is real people, Real trauma, Real culture shock, and quite different
means of resolving conflict.<p>I hope Biden will not just dump the refugees into US cities.
However, the camps that Obama, Trump, Biden are using now for
refugees on the southern border does not fill me with a lot of
confidence that the refugees from Afghanistan will get the
help, care they will all need and the reeducation some will need.<p>The state should be forced to build and staff suitable accommodations
that are warm, friendly and safe.<p>That are set up to help them through a process of adjusting to life
outside of Afghanistan and towards a life in the US.<p>They also need to be screened to help identify those who may have ill intent.
Honestly this is the sort of thing Social Media companies could be really, really good at.<p>“Find all Pashto speaking Muslim families from the Kandahar area, currently living in the US, who have two extra bedrooms, and have lived in the US at least seven years. Rank families by likelihood they would sponsor refugees.”<p>FB should be on this right now.
I'm honestly not a fan of this, despite how well intentioned it may seem (road to hell?)<p>AirBnB is honestly trying too hard with this PR move, it boggles my mind that shareholders don't reign in corporate stunts like this.
Does this settle the argument of whether or not Airbnb displaces local residents and drives up rents?<p>Isn't that an <i>ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Airbnb?</i>