If you've been following world news lately then you should be keenly aware of the perilous situation currently unfolding in Syria, where thousands upon thousands of people are attempting to flee violence and persecution. This has triggered a flood of refugees leaving the war-torn country and heading to Europe, hoping to find asylum and a new life.
Mood in Europe has been mixed - some feel wealthy nations should take on as many migrants as possible while others feel the borders should be closed as the cost of housing these displaced individuals is too high. To address this sensitive topic, a 29-year-old Syrian man now based in Turkey has used one of the world's most recognisable characters in a video which showcases the dangers refugees face when then decide to flee their own country:
A lot of my friends have fled for Europe. From talking to them I built a clear idea of what they went through and the life threatening risks they took.
Five months ago my best friend drowned in the sea while travelling from Ismir (Turkey) to Greece. The engine on the boat exploded. That's when I got the idea for the video.
It needed to be a simple and clear idea which would work irrespective of language. I used Super Mario because it's famous all over the world. It's like music - a universal language.
The man - who operates under the pseudonym Samir Al-Mufti - has been overwhelmed by the reaction online. The video was uploaded to YouTube by Online For Media Production, which makes satirical political content, often focused on Syria. The clip has since attracted a wide audience, and is nearly at 100,000 views:
That surprised me. It's not just Syrian people watching this. People all over the world are talking about it.
Samir is not simply some trouble-maker looking for fame. Originally from the battle-scarred city of Homs, he fled his homeland in 2011. Before the revolution, he studied at Homs University and worked in a company as a PR officer. It would be the killing of two of his brothers in the civil war that caused Samir to flee to Turkey via Egypt, along with his parents and sister.
Samir has been highly critical of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, even going as far as to mock him in animated segments:
My voice is very similar to Assad. It's a gift that I can mock Assad's voice. I discovered this gift before the revolution started and I knew deep inside that I would take advantage of it at some point in the future.
In one of the videos I announced Assad was stepping down. This forced Syria's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to issue a public statement denying Assad's departure.
Samir's work means he cannot return to the land of his birth, and he misses the siblings he lost in the conflict:
It's very lonely now. It was for our freedom. It's not a big price to pay. We used to live in Syria without any dignity or freedom. We don't have anything now. It's so disappointing to see what is happening with this refugee crisis. It's life or death. We have to make our own futures.
Do you think this video is effective in communicating its message? How do you feel about Samir using Mario in such a fashion? Let us know your thoughts below, and please be mindful of the fact that this is a very sensitive topic.
[source bbc.co.uk]
Comments 27
I don't think it's a good idea to have the comment section open on this topic on this site.
It's a topic I'd much rather not talk about here (for several reasons), and I'm afraid the comment section of this site simply would break under the heated nature of the topic in general.
I'll not pass any comment here... but I will share the article. Good job @Damo
The Mario idea is an excellent way to spread information to a lot of people, but I think the video could have done much better in conveying the hardships the refugees are facing. Thanks for the article btw.
Kudos for publishing this. To most of the users here , puts not been able to get your hands on certain amiibo into perspective does it not ?
I would come to this site to escape the relentless onslaught of articles and images... but I'm not sad to see this article here. It just shows that this crisis is getting the attention it deserves. There's a lot of talk about what to do, I won't add to that, but awareness itself is a good thing.
inb4 cease and desist from Nintendo.
Book says they can't play Pokémon
@manu0 you could say that about any topic.
Clever attempt to shine some light on the dangers. Where's the part of the video where the refugees are denied entry into their neighboring "kingdoms". hmm.
I don't think that this site is the place to talk about this topic.
As the article states, the creator of this video intends for it to be viewed by a diverse audience. He has clearly accomplished that goal as we are commenting on it here.
Opinions about the issue aside, I think a snap back to reality may be beneficial to some gamers. Afterall, many of us play to escape reality and it could be easy to ignore situations that exists in this real world we all share.
I believe anyone has the right to freely move between countries as they wish.
Eh...I definitely agree with many of the others above, this isn't something that should have open comments. I'll definitely read the article, but other than that, no comment
Super Mario Immigrator
This is definitely something that needs to have some light shined upon it.
I can't even imagine how tough it is for these people, who have the choice to leave their home for a place they know nothing about, or stay home & get caught up between a ruthless dictatorship and the brutal genocide being commited by ISIS. It must be absolutely terrifying.
@TheWindWaker I LOVE your Avatar, it's great.
There's some irony there where he's lowering the EU flag
Not sure if it's the makers intention lol
This got rather heated... Maybe time to shut down comments?
#Aye Welcome Refugees
Awesome, thank you NL! A very brave guy. My smiles were immediately dampened by the reality of this situation, a very clever way to convey the message without the limitations of language. Anyone with a shred of humanity can feel their pain as fellow humans, anyone who can cast their minds back 70 years or so can see parallels. Here in the UK, politicians will blame these defenceless peoples for problems caused by our own failings, whilst defending tax breaks for the largest companies and banker bonuses which are the true vampires of our society, draining and stockpiling our hard-earned money. But we all know this, right?
They're not refugees if they flee from Turkey but economic migrants. And there has always been fighting in the Middle East and always will be.
@Aromaiden Thanks! It's from deviant art and the artist is laovaan.
Really? What's with everyone acting so scared of the comments section and asking them to be "closed off". NL shows a sensitive video. You are going to get opinionated comments. It's not that hard to understand. If anything it just shows its an issue and that it's just not gonna "go away".
Honestly, I think the video could have done a much better job of showing how difficult the journey would be, perhaps by making each "life" a different person, with the previous person still stuck in the problem they lost with.
And while the journey is certainly hard and dangerous, that really isn't relevant to other countries taking them in. While countries should give humanitarian aid when they can, their first priority should be their own people. Taking in tons of refugees is expensive, and comes with the risk of bringing in terrorists disguised as refugees. In this case, the vast majority of the refugees won't know European languages either, which makes it more likely that they'll just stick together, making a Syrian subculture within the European nations. I feel for the real refugees, who really are desperately fleeing the violence in their own nation, with no alterior motives, but I completely understand European countries not inviting, and even blocking, an invasion.
The people in Syria and in IS territory in Iraq have a brutal Assad dictatorship dropping barrel bombs on them. Killed over 300,000 people and displaced 11m. They also have America and its western/Arab coalition dropping bombs on them.
It's no wonder they are trying to find somewhere safe. Maybe if the west stopped protecting Assad we wouldn't be in this situation.
@kingofthesofa ...No? I mean, just speaking personally, I'm completely capable of focusing my attention on the terrible hardships that Syrian refugees go through, while also being somewhat frustrated that I've never seen a Marth amiibo, and outside of eBay, probably never will.
I have deleted all the comments related to the argument. If they pop up again, the users will be banned.
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