Banksy: “Steve Jobs – The Son of a Migrant from Syria”

[level09]

Syrian hacker here, it's indeed a tough time to be a Syrian. we lost our homes and got no place to go, with almost no country would grant us a visa to enter even for work or business.

I just wanted to raise a point that this crisis not only affects immigrants and asylum seekers, but there are also hundreds of well educated and business founders who are faced with discrimination everywhere on grounds of their nationality.

for instance, last week many German banks rejected my application for a personal account due to my nationality. (although I have obtained a gmbh licensed company ). it is always fine until we pull out our passports. and the response is always "sorry we have no information but we can't open the account".

I really wish if the west would stop putting all Syrians in one category, many of us are educated, smart, hard workers and willing to contribute to modern societies. we really just want a way out of our pain and to feel safe again ..

[HNcow]

Is the argument here "don't worry about immigration because children of immigrants have potential to be great people"? Steve Jobs Syrian nationality has 0% to do with how he was raised, or the life he lived.

I am not trying to argue one side or the other, but I find this more of a "fun fact" than something that should matter at all for this topic.

[bad_user]

> Steve Jobs Syrian nationality has 0% to do with how he was raised, or the life he lived.

But that's the point, isn't it?

[downandout]

Not only did his nationality have nothing to do with his success, his father had nothing to do with it. His father was not in his life, and until a few years ago, he was a hardly-successful manager at a small, grungy casino outside of Reno that caters to truck drivers called Boomtown. To say he was not well-liked among the staff would be an understatement (I've been there, and have asked dealers about him...the term "asshole" came up more than once).

It is entirely possible that some Syrians will create the next Apple, and that others will create the next horrific terrorist attack. People are people, and they're all different. The only thing that matters when it comes to immigration is math. Syria and surrounding areas have produced more terrorists per capita than other places. That's a reason to be careful with them, whether or not that is politically correct.

[SeanDav]

It matters because given the current climate of anti-immigrant rhetoric, immigration may become nigh on impossible. If this had happened a few decades ago there would be no Steve Jobs and no Apple, and an important contribution to American culture/technology/economy would never have happened.

There is a rather long and impressive list of Billionaire and influential recent immigrants or children of immigrants.

[hasenj]

I'm of middle eastern background and fully sympathetic to the Syrian cause. I was very happy about Canada welcoming Syrian refugees and I really don't like Trump.

That said I do agree with you. His father was Syrian but Steve was raised in an American house hold and has zero cultural/emotional connection to Syria and the middle east.

[amasad]

It matters because a lot of the debate was about letting in 5 year old or less orphans. And those children have as much chance to be successful contributors to society as Steve Jobs had when he was an adopted child.

[xd]

"potential to be great people" From all accounts I've read; he was in no way a great person - great business man, yes.

[SeanDav]

Since it is not clear what the point is: This depicts a mural by Banksy (a well known British street artist) indicating that Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian immigrant.

>EDIT: Title has now been changed to make it more clear.

[Axsuul]

Except it's not entirely painting the whole picture since Steve Jobs was adopted and not raised by his biological parents.

[baq]

http://banksy.co.uk/index1.asp shows much more than (spoilers) just a face.

[heimatau]

At first I didn't get it. This link is better. I guess you can say 'spoilers' but it makes sense with this link. :)

[goodJobWalrus]

But that's like coming into a movie 25 minutes late. No, go to the original link, and click through.

[r-w]

You can also just click on each picture to view the next.

[mrharrison]

After seeing all of the cynical comments about, people are people, his Syrian dad didn't raise him, how he was raised, etc.. I had to put in my assumption of why Banksy did this.

He did it to give the Syrians hope of a positive road ahead, to not seek retribution, but to create something great.

[huuu]

Also check http://www.dismaland.co.uk/ (few clicks away after Steve Jobs).

They are recycling Banksy's 'fun park' into houses.

[eecks]

I don't get it.

[baq]

no wonder. click around and read this (or similar) for context: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/dec/11/banksy-u...

[goodJobWalrus]

Click on the image repeatedly. It's awesome.

[swagv]

Was this supposed to reason to ALLOW Syrian migrants? It's not.

[mrfusion]

They disabled zoom on the iPhone. I couldn't see much.

[venomsnake]

And what conclusion should a person that does not like Jobs or his vision of closed computing make, based on this?

[mehrzad]

This is why people think Banksy is a hack now. He rehashed a meme that has already been discussed to death weeks ago and presents it as original art. What a joke.