Egyptian business mogul, Naguib Sawiris, has offered a plan to help ease the pressure of Migrants flocking into European nations across the Mediterranean water. He tweeted that Greece or Italy should sell him Islands on which he will provide temporary shelter for the migrants.
This may seem on paper like a “crazy idea” and a mere attention seeking tweet from a billionaire. But according to hm, it is more than just a tweet, and it is certainly not a crazy idea.
Greece or Italy sell me an island,ill call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country
— Naguib Sawiris (@NaguibSawiris) September 1, 2015
“It’s not a ridiculous idea. And I’m not known to adopt ridiculous ideas. It’s a very simple idea,” the billionaire said in a phone interview. He pointed out that both Greece and Italy have financial issues and uninhabited Islands, “and already, the fleeing refugees are in Greece and Italy; so it is a very simple solution. They sell the Islands to me, I’ll make a temporary shelter for these people.” Yesterday, the billionaire tweeted a statement saying he had identified two privately owned Islands in Greece, and is currently in negotiations with the owners. “We have corresponded with the owners and expressed our interest to go into negotiations with them,” it reads. The statement also reveals that the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR has shown interest to cooperate on the project -#aylanIsland – which is estimated to require $100 million (90 million euros) capital.
After massive interest to contribute through donations&volunteering I’m sharing latest updates #aylanISLAND project. pic.twitter.com/FNNkbWinSA — Naguib Sawiris (@NaguibSawiris) September 14, 2015
Naguib Sawiris, is the Executive Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E.. He is the third richest man in Egypt, and 54th richest man in the world, with a net worth of $2.9 billion.
