Microsoft Corp. founder and FWD.us co-founder Bill Gates said that Europe should increase foreign aid to countries instead of taking in more refugees. Gates, in an interview with the German newspaper, Welt am Sonntag, said that bringing in more migrants would motivate more to leave their home countries and flood Europe.
Gates suggested that spending more in foreign aid would help treat the root problem of the refugee crisis that has overtaken Europe. Research from the Center for Immigration Studies has found that, according to data from the Untied Nations, nations can help 12 refugees by establishing safe zones in their home regions for the same cost as permanently resettling one refugee.
“On the one hand you want to demonstrate generosity and take in refugees, but the more generous you are, the more word gets around about this — which in turn motivates more people to leave Africa,” Gates told the newspaper.
Gates praised Germany for its commitment to devote 0.7% of their GDP to foreign aid but criticized Germany’s open border “attitude to refugees”, referring to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s call for Europe to accept more refugees.
“Germany cannot possibly take in the huge, massive number of people who are wanting to make their way to Europe,” Gates said.
These comments come as European leaders struggle with how to handle the continuing refugee crisis. Just this week Italy’s Interior Minister called on its European neighbors to take in more of the refugees making their way across the Mediterranean. Italy has threatened to close its ports to charity ships that are rescuing the migrants if they cannot get help to stem the flow of migrants into their country.
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