WASHINGTON – An American Muslim of Egyptian origin has launched a new website to allow people to invite refugees to stay in their homes, saying that immigration is about making vulnerable newcomers to the country feel at home which can only be achieved by everyday people.
“EmergencyBnB is not about the government giving you a place to stay,” Amr Araf, an Egyptian immigrant who was granted the green card in 2015, told Washington Post.
“It’s about the fact that your neighbors care about you.”
Over the past year, Arafa has opened his studio apartment in Washington to refugees and domestic violence victims free of charge, and he’s launched a website to help Americans across the country do the same.
The concept of his site, called EmergencyBnB, resembles Airbnb, where people list their homes or a bedroom for travelers to rent by the night.
But on EmergencyBnB, no money is exchanged and the people looking for places to stay are often in a crisis with nowhere to go.
Arafa first listed his apartment on Airbnb in November for the cheapest possible amount, $10, and noted that only refugees and domestic violence victims could stay. He later refunds the $10.
He decided to offer help after a viral 2015 video of a Hungarian woman tripping a Syrian refugee holding his child while running from police.
“It started when I got this green card. I got this incredible dosage of stability. That card allowed me to see my mother for the first time in eight years,” Arafa said.
“That one month home in Egypt, I came back with this new positive energy. I just wanted to help people get this sense of stability.”
When he has a guest, he either books a hotel for himself, stays with friends or is traveling.
“Staying at a stranger’s place is not something I would have normally done, but you get to a place of desperation,” a woman, who responded to his Airbnb posting said she needed to get away from an abusive roommate, said.
“I don’t think anyone could do this because it takes trust on both sides. He’s taking a risk, and I’m taking a risk. It made me realize that people like him are rare, but they do exist.”
Spreading the Call
Over the past months, Arafa started to get new hosts who sign up on EmergencyBnB each week.
“I’m always interested in getting to know other people and cultures, and having people come into your home seems like a great opportunity to do that,” said Steve Graybill, who listed a spare bedroom in his Silver Spring home.
Graybill and his wife read about Arafa’s project in Street Sense, a D.C. newspaper largely written by homeless and previously homeless people.
“It’s a scary thing to open your home to a stranger. It’s OK to be afraid, but we shouldn’t let those fears control us.”
Arafa’s initiative was getting support from Alysha Tagert, a social services program coordinator for the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition.
Working with refugees, Target said it’s difficult to find housing, particularly in the DC area, for the victims her organization encounters.
“It’s incredibly difficult to get a bed anywhere in the city,” she said.
“Public shelters are sometimes very dangerous environments. We’re talking about sometimes very traumatized people going into dysfunctional environments. It would be a very natural welcome for an individual if they were staying in a home. I think it’s important for enculturation, for feeling like you belong.”
With more than 63,000 refugees entering the US since October 2015, according to the Pew Research Center, Arafa is facing a real challenge to find people willing to open their homes.
“It completely changes your mood, knowing that you’re capable of giving. It’s a value add,” he said.
“I’m not attempting to resolve the refugee crisis, but I know that there are refugees here today and you have to make them feel welcome here.”