Image of the Day: Steve Jobs and the Syrian migrant crisis

The image above was produced by world-renowned graffiti artist Bansky on a wall in the Calais Jungle — an overpopulated migrant city in France. 

For those unfamiliar with Steve Jobs’ history, the illustration might seem entirely out of place, but this relatively simple image of Apple’s founder and former CEO wearing his trademark blue jeans and black turtleneck, while carrying an Apple computer and a traveling sack, speaks volumes about what’s currently going on with the Syrian migrant crisis. 

Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 to Joanna Carole Schieble. His biological father was Abdulfattah Jandali, a Muslim man who grew up in Syria and met Schieble while studying in America. Upon becoming pregnant in Syria, Schieble travelled to San Francisco to have the baby out of wedlock and put it up for adoption. 

The purpose in putting an image of Jobs in a spot surround by the tents of migrants, is to put a face to the thousands of people who are trying to flee the Syrian conflict by getting into the United Kingdom. 

“We're often led to believe migration is a drain on the country's resources, but Steve Jobs was the son of a Syrian migrant,” Banksy said in a statement with the piece. “Apple is the world's most profitable company, it pays over $7bn a year in taxes — and it only exists because they allowed in a young man from Homs.”

Worth noting — to assist with the humanity crisis in Calais, Banksy has been using pieces from a previous installation he created to build shelters for the 7,000 migrants stranded in this city. 

To see more of Banksy’s work, visit his website.