An
Egyptian billionaire is offering to buy an island for people fleeing to Europe
from war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Naguib Sawiris,
one of the region's wealthiest men, said "there is no limit" on what
he is willing to spend to buy an island from Italy or Greece -- where thousands
have been arriving -- to provide the refugees with a new home.
"Greece or Italy, sell me an
island," Sawiris tweeted. He even suggested a name for the new country:
"Hope."
He said there are
dozens of empty islands off of Greece and Italy that could handle 100,000 to
200,000 people. And he rejected a suggestion that it was a
"ridiculous" idea.
"It's a very
simple solution," he told CNN Friday. "They sell the island to me and
I'll make a temporary shelter for these people. I'll make a small port or
marina for the boats to land there. I'll employ the people to build their own
homes, their schools, a hospital, a university, a hotel," he said.
Sawiris, the chief
executive of telecom group Orascom TMT, said the people would be free to return
home at any time or stay on the island.
Greek and Italian
officials were not available to comment on the proposal.
Sawiris said,
"I sometimes think the politicians don't have a heart."
"All I need
is the permission to put these people on this island. After that I don't need anything anymore from them.
I'll pay them for the island, I'll provide the jobs, I'll take care of all the
logistics. I know I can do that," he said during his CNN interview.
Sawiris is one of
Egypt's best known businessmen, and also founder of a political party. He comes
from a family of entrepreneurs; his brother Nassef is chairman of Orascom
Construction Industries, one of Egypt's most valuable publicly traded
companies.
Europe is
struggling to cope with the number of people trying to escape war and poverty.
Some European
countries have taken a hard line on migration and are refusing to accept any
more refugees. They argue that welcoming them would send the wrong signal to
people smugglers. Meanwhile, countries on the European Union's external border
such as Greece, Italy, and Hungary, are facing an influx of thousands.
Harrowing images
of tiny bodies washing up on European shores, and the shocking news
of 71 refugees found dead in a truck in Austria, are now shaking the continent
to its core.
EU leaders are
meeting to deal with the crisis, and some of those previously against accepting
more migrants, such as British Prime Minister David Cameron, are softening
their stance.
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