Aug 24 (Reuters) – U.S. firms together with Airbnb Inc ABNB.O and Walmart Inc WMT.N are lending a hand to the individuals of Afghanistan after the current collapse of the U.S.-backed authorities and takeover by the Taliban militant group.
Residence rental firm Airbnb Inc stated on Tuesday it might present non permanent housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide.
The hassle will likely be funded by Airbnb, its chief govt, Brian Chesky, and donations to its charity Airbnb.org, the corporate stated in a weblog.
“We’re offering this housing by way of resettlement businesses and companions, who’re in direct coordination with refugees and are advising on their wants for size of keep,” an organization spokeswoman stated.
“Whereas we’re solely offering non permanent (not everlasting) housing, we’re dedicated to housing these households for so long as they want.”
The Taliban seized energy in Afghanistan final week as the US and its allies withdrew troops from the nation. The US and its allies are racing to finish the evacuation of all foreigners and weak Afghans earlier than the expiry of an Aug. 31 deadline agreed with the Taliban.
Over the previous weekend, Airbnb.org has labored with companions to position 165 refugees in protected housing shortly after they landed in the US, Airbnb stated.
U.S. army and coalition flights evacuated 21,600 individuals from Kabul, Afghanistan, in a 24-hour interval since early Monday, a White Home official stated on Tuesday.
In one other instance of firms pitching in, U.S. wi-fi provider Verizon Inc VZ.N stated on Tuesday it plans to waive expenses for calls from its client and enterprise clients to Afghanistan, beginning Wednesday and operating by way of Sept. 6. Its clients, together with those who name from landlines, is not going to face any expenses throughout that interval, the Basking Ridge, New Jersey-based primarily based firm stated in an announcement.
Low cost retailer Walmart Inc WMT.N stated in a weblog put up on Tuesday that it plans, by way of its basis, to donate $1 million to a few nonprofits supporting Afghan refugees getting into the US, in addition to to veterans and their households. These organizations are the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, No One Left Behind and the Tragedy Help Program for Survivors.
On Sunday, the US enlisted the assistance of six industrial airways to assist transport individuals after their evacuation from Afghanistan as Washington seeks to step up the tempo of exits of People and at-risk Afghans from Kabul.
The Pentagon stated on Sunday it referred to as up 18 civilian plane from United Airways UAL.O, American Airways AAL.O, Delta Air Strains DAL.N and others to hold individuals from non permanent places after they landed on flights from Afghanistan, leaning on the business it final referred to as on throughout the Iraq Struggle in 2003.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru Writing by Anna Driver Modifying by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Matthew Lewis)
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