Did you know that an Egyptian billionaire is urging Greek and Italian leaders to sell him an island for the refugees?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 11:52:46 -0400

Did you know that Egyptian billionaire urging Greek and Italian leaders to sell him island for refugees?

Will this help the situation for Syrian refugees and migrants? Your thoughts RP members?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerenblankfeld/2015/09/05/egyptian-billionaire-urging-greek-and-italian-leaders-to-sell-him-island-for-refugees/

FORBES Interview With Egyptian Billionaire Who Wants To Buy Island for Refugees

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said he will send formal letters tomorrow to the 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.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 6 at 2015 11:54 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 11:54:00 -0400

as long as it is not here... usa that is.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 6 at 2015 11:58 AM

MCPO Roger Collins — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 11:58:00 -0400

Altruistic, but not practicable in the long run. Who will take up the cost of living for them? If he is going all the way and buying an island and supporting those that populate that island indefinitely. I'm all for it. WTH is the UN on this issue?

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Sep 6 at 2015 12:12 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 12:12:05 -0400

Admirable, COL Mikel J. Burroughs. I hope he truly has the wherewithal and resilience to actually see such an undertaking to completion (which, of course, is never).

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Sep 6 at 2015 12:29 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 12:29:45 -0400

Some great Ideas being floated. Pope calling for every Parish to adopt a family.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 6 at 2015 12:43 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 12:43:17 -0400

COL Mikel J. Burroughs There are many questions which come about because of his statement. “I am serious with my intentions,” Sawiris said to FORBES over the phone, 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.” I'm not sure this is altruistic, he wants to do it because "I want to feel good about having done something good", however it is very generous of him. Questions it brings up are: Which Island???? What infrastructure already exists?? What logistics with regards to transportation and supplies are available. Who already lives there? Will you be displacing someone in order to achieve this goal and how will they be compensated? What about sanitation? How long if nothing exists will it take for this to become operational? I suppose if you're a billionaire someone else will be in charge of taking care of these matters.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Sep 6 at 2015 12:57 PM

LTC John Shaw — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 12:57:26 -0400

He may have his heart in the right place or he may want to start his own country.
If I were the Greek and Italian leaders I would let him know that no islands are for sale, but he is welcome to donate and 100% will go to the refugees.
Even if the Greek and Italian governments provided the space it does not solve the refugee problem.
People don't want just a place to sleep and eat, they want to live! They want to have a job and the respect and social admiration that comes from being a productive member of society.
The best thing he can offer is to request the Egyptian government accept refugees and that he will assist in there support.
The West can accept refugees across many countries, but we need to step up our military actions to defeat ISIS/ISIL which appear to be the root cause of the refugee problem.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Sep 6 at 2015 1:31 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 13:31:35 -0400

No COL Mikel J. Burroughs I did not know that Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris was contacting the governments of Greece and Italy in attempt to "buy" an island for refugees.
To be honest, I doubt that either nation would be willing to "sell" an island that was within either nation's borders as this would
(1) make them vulnerable to either criminals, terrorists or other undesirable groups who would "escape" from the island to the mainland and create havoc there;
(2) attract people from north Africa, Saharan Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as Syria, Lebanon and other trouble spots which could overwhelm the island before sufficient facilities were established.
(3) while Greece might be interested in the short -term availability of significant funding to reduce their obligations to the EU and creditors, Italy would not be vulnerable to this type of temptation. This fact could create tension between the two if the island in question is in the Adriatic or Ionian Seas between the two nations.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 6 at 2015 3:02 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 15:02:31 -0400

Why doesn't he just spend that money on entitlements for as many refugees in his own country?