Egypt’s third richest man, Naguib Sawiris has revealed plans to buy an island which will be home to relocate refugees from war zone, Syria. He plans to buy an island either in Greece or Italy which he will name ‘Ilan’ in memory of the Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi drowned on Turkish shore.
Forbes reports that a tweet sent out on Tuesday by Sawiris can be translated to “Greece or Italy sell me an island, I’ll call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country.”
Responding to Agence France Press’s inquiry about the quest to buy an island, the billionaire confirmed his plans.
“You have dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees,” he said.
The 61-year-old is not concerned about the funding of the project but just hopes that the owners of the land will be willing to sell.
According to the billionaire, refugees who wish to go back to Syria when their homeland declares ceasefire will be free to do so.
