M. TOMOSKI

As the debate in Europe continues over whether to welcome Syrian refugees, it would appear that there is nothing more powerful than an image. For four years statistics and news reports have flooded the media about the worsening situation in Syria to a feeble response from the international community. The conflict has now reached a tipping point causing millions to flee from an oppressive regime and its equally brutal alternative, the Islamic State. As images of drowned refugees on the coast of Turkey appeared on the news and social media those who have remained silent, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, were spurred into action.

Among these new activists is Naguib Sawiris, the CEO of Orascom TMT, the world’s sixth largest telecommunications company. He has offered to purchase islands in the Mediterranean on which he plans to establish both permanent and temporary residences, depending on what the refugees prefer.

Naguib Sawiris has offered to purchase islands for permanent and temporary residences for Syrian refugees.

Proposing the idea earlier this month Sawiris told Agence France, “[Greece has] dozens of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees.”

Far from a dozen, Greece has 6,000 islands in total, of which only 227 are inhabited. In recent years the Greek government has been encouraged to sell these uninhabited islands in order to pay off the country’s massive debt.

Since his initial announcement Sawiris has identified two privately owned islands in the Aegean Sea whose owners have shown interest in the idea. He plans to name the sanctuary Aylan Island after the drowned Syrian child Aylan Kurdi, whose tragic photograph sparked an online campaign which inspired the likes of Google and even Goldman Sachs, an investment bank likened to a vampire squid, to provide millions in financial aid.

From his Twitter account the Egyptian billionaire has made several pleas to the governments of Italy and Greece as potential supporters of his plan.

“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,” he says. Sawaris claims to have received thousands of emails from supporters, but there are also skeptics who say that his proposal borders on fantasy. While his critics may be right, Sawiris is determined to make Aylan Island a reality.

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

“If you have a better idea, you are welcome. The rule in my corporate world, anybody who criticised my solution and does not have any better solution, I would tell them to shut the fuck up.” He told Newsweek.

For lack of better ideas and a willingness among several European governments to accept refugees Sawiris has even sparked the interest of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UNHCR estimates more than four million Syrians have fled their homes, the majority of whom are taken in by neighboring countries like Jordan and Lebanon, both of which have been accepting thousands of refugees since the conflict began.

Sawiris claims that his island sanctuary could take in between 100 and 200,000 refugees. The initial buy could cost him $10 to $100 million in addition to the jobs, schools, and necessities he has promised in order to accommodate anyone who wants to become a permanent resident of the island. Those who wish to leave are free to do so at any time. The only issue, he says, is getting the Greek government on board.

In recent weeks Germany has begun to accept refugees in an enthusiastic manner that has been dubbed Willkommenskultur, or welcome culture. More than 20,000 were accepted in the first week after Chancellor Merkel broke her silence on the subject. In the aftermath of the Second World War millions of Germans were deported in a migration which resulted in the creation of the UNHCR in 1951. The treaty was extended in 1967 to include refugees from all around the world.

Still, many in Europe are skeptical of accepting foreigners, and particularly Muslim migrants, for fear that they may take advantage of social programs or plot an attack inspired by the Islamic State. Having completely missed the irony of their threats, a right wing group in Germany went as far as to threaten to behead a politician who spoke out in defense of the refugees.

On the Greek island of Kos, thousands of refugees face terrible conditions and are sometimes violently received by locals. More than 40,000 people have crossed through Macedonia in the past two months, where they encountered police blockades, and into Serbia where they have been met with barbed wire fences on the Hungarian border.

Those who claim that the migrants are exploiting their status as refugees to take advantage of their host countries point to the fact that thousands are crossing into Europe through Turkey where they face no immediate danger. But Turkey itself has only agreed to the original 1951 version of the UNHCR treaty, meaning that they are only willing to accept refugees fleeing from oppressive regimes in Europe.

As a result, migrants face a situation in which they are forced to keep moving until they can find a place that will allow them to stay. And though there may be some who are willing to exploit the confusion that comes with the movement of thousands of people, many of the refugees would prefer never to have had to leave their homes in the first place.

So if Greece has so many islands, and a billionaire is willing to foot the bill for thousands of unwanted immigrants, why not sell that unused land and allow the refugees to stay? The answer is that many questions remain unanswered. Such as whether the island will continue to be a part of Greece, and whether those who stay will become citizens of the island or employees of an Egyptian billionaire. But for the time being, Sawiris’ motives appear to be sincere and there are definitely worse ways to spend a fortune.

Sources: msnbc.com,  twitter.com,  commondreams.org