I Will Buy Island To Shelter Refugees In Europe: Egyptian Billionaire

An Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has presented his own resolution to help answer the rising refugee predicament.

Sawiris wants to buy a Mediterranean Island to allow refugees a temporary shelter until a long-term solution can be found. Sawiris is considering approaching the governments of Greece and Italy to possibly buy an island to help migrants fleeing from conflict zones, like Syria.



Speaking to AFP News, Sawiris said: “Of course it’s feasible.”

“You have dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees…[as] temporary shelters to house the people, then you start employing the people to build housing, schools, universities, hospitals. And if things improve, whoever wants to go back [to their homeland] goes back.”



Sawiris insists migrants escaping trouble zones need to be treated as human beings. “The way they are being treated now, they are being treated like cattle,” said Sawiris.

Sawiris said an island off Greece or Italy would cost between $10 million and $100 million. At this stage it’s unclear if the governments of these two countries are considering Sawiris’ proposal.

In the past week, several harrowing images and stories have served as bleak reminders of the staggering human toll of Europe’s migrant crisis: a 3-year-old Syrian boy lying dead in the sand; hundreds of desperate migrants clashing with Hungarian police; dozens of dead refugees found in the back of a truck in Austria.



With such harrowing pictures being seen around the world, the pressure is on governments to find solutions to what is becoming a disastrous situation. Sawiris’ island proposal just might be the best option out there.

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