Cairo: An offer by Egyptian business tycoon and politician, Najeeb Sawiris, to buy an island from Greece or Italy to shelter vulnerable refugees, mainly Syrians, has sparked controversy.
While most responses in Egypt and abroad were supportive of Sawiris’ offer, some of his compatriots were critical.
Celebrated Syrian singer, Assala Nasri, praised Sawiris for his idea and “big heart”. “If he carries it out as soon as possible, he could lessen pains that have agonised the whole world,” she wrote on her Twitter account.
The suggestion was first made by the 60-year-old mogul in a tweet last week, saying the proposed haven would host the migrants and provide jobs for them.
Thousands of refugees fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa have perished in recent months in perilous sea journeys to Europe.
Sawiris said in a tweet on Saturday that he would name the new shelter after Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-Syrian boy who died along with some members of his family last week when their boat capsized off Turkey.
Detractors, however, said Sawiris should first focus on his homeland where around 40 per cent of the country’s nearly 90 million people are believed to live below the poverty line.
“Charity begins at home,” a critic called Al Asil, posted in a tweet. “The billionaire seeks fame,” wrote another.
Sawiris did not hesitate to take on his critics.
“I have not lagged behind in serving Egypt. My offer for refugees is purely humanitarian,” he told private Egyptian TV station CBC. “God has saved us from the rule of the Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood],” said Sawiris, an outspoken critic of Islamists. “Had the Ikhwan remained in power, we would have met the same fate of the refugees [from Syria].”
In 2013, the army deposed president Mohammad Mursi of the Brotherhood following enormous street protests against his one-year-old rule.
Sawiris, a co-founder of the Egyptian Liberals Party, said he would approach the Greek government over his offer.
“Greece is experiencing a financial problem and has abandoned vast islands. It is possible that a new town can be built there for the Syrian refugees until the crisis in their country is solved,” Sawiris told CBC.
“What Syrians are facing is an unbearable insult.”
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians, displaced by a civil war now in its fifth year at home, are attempting dangerous trips from Turkey to Greece, hoping to find a better future in Europe.
The number of Syrian refugees could reach 4.27 million by the end of 2015, the worst exodus since the Rwandan genocide 20 years ago, according to the UN.
