Tweet over ‘Syrian migrant child’ Steve Jobs goes viral

A tweet highlighting how Steve Jobs, the late founder of U.S. computing giant Apple, was the child of a Syrian migrant went viral this week, soon after images of dead toddler Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach hit headlines around the world.

The tweet, shared by Swiss-based tech entrepreneur David Galbraith, showed an image of Steve Jobs – whose father left Syrian for the U.S. in the 1950s - captioned with the words “A Syrian migrant’s child.”

Since Thursday, Galbraith’s post has been retweeted over 8,000 times.

“Seeing refugees and immigrants as only a burden, and not as a future asset, is not very smart,” said one Twitter user in response to Galbraith’s tweet.

Over the last few months, migrants fleeing violence, persecution and poverty in their home countries have flocked to Europe, many in rafts and makeshift vessels.

A paramilitary police officer investigates the scene before carrying the lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi, 3, AP

But EU countries, particularly smaller and poorer ones and those without a strong tradition of receiving migrants, are facing a much greater challenge to cope with the influx of people. Many Europeans also do not welcome the mass migration.

And as desperate people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia flood into Europe, hundreds are also dying in risky journeys arranged by unscrupulous smugglers.

When the body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi washed up on a Turkish beach along with those of his mother and brother, he came to represent others who also have perished trying to seek a better life.

As of Sept. 1, at least 364,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe this year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

(With the Associated Press)