Billionaire urging Greek and Italian leaders to sell him island for refugees!

CAIRO, Egypt (PNN) - September 6, 2015 - Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said he will send formal letters tomorrow to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi requesting to buy an island to house the outpour of Syrian refugees and migrants.

“I am serious with my intentions,” Sawiris said, regarding the contents of his letter to the European leaders. “I want to feel good about having done something good. Provide me with the island and I will do the rest.”

Sawiris, who heads up telecommunications company Orascom Telecom Media & Technology (OTMT), is Egypt’s third richest man, with a net worth of $2.9 billion. He says he has the money and resources to move this plan forward, adding that he’s developed land and has experience in logistics. Sawiris originally suggested buying an island for migrants in a September 3 tweet that went viral. He said he hasn’t yet been in contact with the Greek or Italian governments and his letters tomorrow will be his first formal gesture.

The world is experiencing the biggest displacement of people since World War II. Waves of refugees and migrants are fleeing war-torn homes, enduring life-threatening journeys in search of safety. Thousands of people have died on a well-traveled route through the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Many are seeking refuge in Germany, which expects to welcome 800,000 asylum-seekers this year.

Sawiris said there’s a limit to how many people Europe can take in. He said there’s nothing either government can lose from accepting his proposal, which he believes will be reviewed by Greek and Italian leaders for weeks.

He has not yet identified an island. “The bigger the island the more people it can take,” Sawiris said.

Western and Gulf countries aren’t doing enough to solve the humanitarian crisis, he added, for fear of letting in ISIS terrorists and because of their own domestic economic problems. This is why he’s suggesting a solution “to start from scratch”. He said he is willing to pay for an island and for safe boats to carry the migrants and refugees. He’ll also create a temporary port and marina, as well as provide food and temporary power. He said he will develop an infrastructure to house the migrants and hire the new citizens as construction workers or farmers, creating a small city and community.

“Rich people get rich because they get things done, they use their imagination,” said Sawiris.

The island will either remain in the domain of the country he buys it from or be an independent entity, which he said he’d name Aylan, after Aylan Kurdi, the 3-year old Syrian boy whose drowned body was washed up on a Turkish beach. The toddler’s photograph spurred Sawiris to tweet his proposal.

“My conscience has been awakened by the picture of this child being taken in the sea,” Sawiris said. “God put the image of this child in front of us for a reason. He could have been swallowed by the ocean.”