Billionaire Offers to Buy Island for European Migrants

An Egyptian billionaire has floated the idea of buying an island from a Mediterranean European country like Greece or Italy and handing it over to migrants as the refugee crisis in Europe continues to escalate.

Time reports that Naguib Sawiris offered to buy an island from Greece or Italy and declare its independence so that refugees could have a place to live and work free from the turmoil of their homelands.

Sawiris said it could cost anywhere from $10 to $100 million and that does not include investments in things like roads, schools, ports, housing, and electrical infrastructure. There are also concerns about who would be in charge of things like law enforcement and customs.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed into Europe via perilous land and sea routes. Thousands of people have drowned in the Mediterranean over the months as human smugglers cut corners and often leave migrants abandoned at sea.

The New York Times reports that thousands of migrants who had been trapped in a train station in Hungary simply left and began walking to Germany to avoid being put into camps. Unable to control the situation, Hungary has said it will provide buses to carry the migrants to Germany.

Sawiris is the head of Egypt's largest public employer, Orascom, and is involved in a number of industries such as the media, telecommunications, hotels, and construction.

Sawiris' generosity stands in stark contrast to how rich Arab states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have worked to help refugees from the Syrian Civil War. The Washington Post reports that these countries have not offered any room to these refugees despite being some the richest on the planet.