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Apple founder Steve Jobs was also 'Syrian migrant's child'

Dawood Rehman 02:56 PM | 11 Sep, 2015
Apple founder Steve Jobs was also 'Syrian migrant's child'
GENEVA (Web Desk) - The online tech community has rallied around the story of drowned three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, pointing out that the children of Syrian migrants include the man who invented the iPhone.

Steve Jobs, the Apple founder who died in 2011 and is subject of an upcoming biopic by British director Danny Boyle, was the son of a Syrian man who moved to the US to study in the 1950s.

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Abdul Fattah Jandali was born in 1931 to a well-off family in Homs, Syria - a city now most famous as the scene of some of the worst fighting in the country's ongoing civil war.

He and his partner Joanne Carole Schieble had Jobs out of wedlock and were forced to give him up for adoption. They later married, and had Jobs' biological sister Mona Simpson.

Though Jobs' story is a world away from that of Aylan, whose death last week prompted international outrage, a simple post noting their shared Syrian heritage has been shared thousands of times on social media.

Read more: Father of drowned boy Aylan Kurdi tells his story

Posted by Geneva-based tech entrepreneur David Galbraith, it simply included a picture of Jobs and the caption: "A Syrian migrants' child [sic]."

Galbraith, who was co-founder of the company where Yelp was created and helped author RSS technology, said he was a fan of Jobs and remembered his family history when news about desperate Syrian refugees made headlines around the world.

He told the Chicago Tribune that he "could barely look (at the photographs of Aylan) as I have two beautiful young children of my own."

He said: "It seemed to be that what the most precious thing in the world, a small child, was washed up on the sea shore like a discarded object of no value, when a child with a parent of the same nationality, given opportunity had created the largest company in the entire world. And here we are seeing an acrimonious debate, about stopping migrants."

The image he chose of Jobs comes from the cover of the late entrepreneur’s best-selling, self-titled autobiography.

"It contrasted that of Aylan Kurdi in every way and made me wonder what little boys like him could have achieved if they had been given the chance," Galbraith said.

While the reminder of Jobs' background has been shared more than 11,000 times, not everyone agreed with the apparent sentiment behind it.

One wrote that it suggests "that human life is worth something only if it achieves 'great things'. Another said the picture implied we should only perceive children as "future assets," adding: "Must we even value the human in economic terms?"

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But many others were positive about Galbraith's message. One said it was a "brilliant tweet," while another wrote: "Most times the simplest statements are the most powerful."

Dawood Rehman
Dawood Rehman

The writer is a member of the staff.

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Today's currency exchange rates in Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal rates on March 23, 2023

KARACHI - Following are the foreign currency exchange rates for US Dollar, Saudi Riyal, UK Pound Sterling, U.A.E. Dirham, European Euro, and other foreign currencies in Pakistan open market on March 23, 2023 (Thursday).

Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)

Currency Symbol Buying Selling
US Dollar ‎USD 283.1 286.15
Euro EUR 302.5 305.5
UK Pound Sterling GBP 343.5 347
U.A.E Dirham AED 77.2 78
Saudi Riyal SAR 75.4 76.2
Australian Dollar AUD 187 189.4
Bahrain Dinar BHD 749.55 757.55
Canadian Dollar CAD 205 207.2
China Yuan CNY 40.91 41.31
Danish Krone DKK 40.77 41.17
Hong Kong Dollar HKD 35.92 36.27
Indian Rupee INR 3.41 3.52
Japanese Yen JPY 2.06 2.11
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD 919.22 928.22
Malaysian Ringgit MYR 62.85 63.45
New Zealand Dollar NZD 176.66 178.66
Norwegians Krone NOK 26.33 26.63
Omani Riyal OMR 731.97 739.97
Qatari Riyal ‎QAR 77.43 78.13
Singapore Dollar SGD 208 210
Swedish Korona SEK 26.5 26.8
Swiss Franc CHF 305.12 307.62
Thai Bhat THB 8.19 8.34

Today's gold rates in Pakistan – 23 March 2023

KARACHI – The price of a single tola of 24-karat gold in Pakistan is Rs 203,800 on Thursday. The price of 10 grams of 24k gold was recorded at Rs174,730.   

Likewise, 10 grams of 22k gold were being traded for Rs163,624 while a single tola of 22-karat gold was being sold at Rs 190,880.

Note: The gold rate in Pakistan is fluctuating according to the international market so the price is never been fixed. The below rates are provided by local gold markets and Sarafa Markets of different cities.

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Karachi PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Islamabad PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Peshawar PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Quetta PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Sialkot PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Attock PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Gujranwala PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Jehlum PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Multan PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Bahawalpur PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Gujrat PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Nawabshah PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Chakwal PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Hyderabad PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Nowshehra PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Sargodha PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Faisalabad PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350
Mirpur PKR 203,800 PKR 2,350

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