Refugee Mario highlights migrant crisis one jump at a time
Satirical video shows Refugee Mario take on a dangerous voyage from crisis-stricken Syria to the European Union
PHOTO: online production (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmI2456CzJY)
In a bid to highlight the plight of Syrian refugees, a Syrian artist has created a satirical version of Nintendo’s iconic video game Super Mario Bros.
While the original Mario, an Italian American plumber, charges through a hostile fantasy world to reach a distressed princess, the satirical video shows Syrian Mario take on a dangerous voyage from crisis-stricken Syria to the European Union.
The video called “Super Mario Bros: The Asylum Stage" has been viewed over 160,000 times on Online Production’s Facebook and YouTube accounts since September 8, 2016.
Instead of jumping over killer mushrooms and dangerous turtles, Refugee Mario is faced with much more realistic threats, similar to the ones faced by Syrian refugees, such as drowning while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Greece or being thrown in prison.
On his dangerous journey, the main character dressed in a red cap and white shirt first encounters human traffickers who rob him of all his savings in exchange for letting him board a boat off Turkey’s coast. After completing a treacherous sea voyage, Refugee Mario reaches Hungary and is immediately thrown into jail by border police. However, on his second attempt, he finally manages to dodge police and reach Germany/Sweden.
When he finally reaches a castle portrayed as a refugee camp in the video, Refugee Mario jumps onto a goalpost waving a European Union flag.
Talking to BBC News, the artist, Samir Al-Mufti, said he came up with the idea after lot of his friends fled to 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," Samir told BBC Trending.
"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," he said.
Read: Wealthy Gulf nations face questions over Syria refugees
Nearly 3,000 people have been killed trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, the UNHCR says, and war continues to devastate Syria.
As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few.
By the end of August, more than four million Syrians had fled their country but very few if any refugees have been officially accepted by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
While the original Mario, an Italian American plumber, charges through a hostile fantasy world to reach a distressed princess, the satirical video shows Syrian Mario take on a dangerous voyage from crisis-stricken Syria to the European Union.
The video called “Super Mario Bros: The Asylum Stage" has been viewed over 160,000 times on Online Production’s Facebook and YouTube accounts since September 8, 2016.
Instead of jumping over killer mushrooms and dangerous turtles, Refugee Mario is faced with much more realistic threats, similar to the ones faced by Syrian refugees, such as drowning while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Greece or being thrown in prison.
On his dangerous journey, the main character dressed in a red cap and white shirt first encounters human traffickers who rob him of all his savings in exchange for letting him board a boat off Turkey’s coast. After completing a treacherous sea voyage, Refugee Mario reaches Hungary and is immediately thrown into jail by border police. However, on his second attempt, he finally manages to dodge police and reach Germany/Sweden.
When he finally reaches a castle portrayed as a refugee camp in the video, Refugee Mario jumps onto a goalpost waving a European Union flag.
Talking to BBC News, the artist, Samir Al-Mufti, said he came up with the idea after lot of his friends fled to 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," Samir told BBC Trending.
"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," he said.
Read: Wealthy Gulf nations face questions over Syria refugees
Nearly 3,000 people have been killed trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, the UNHCR says, and war continues to devastate Syria.
As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees languish in camps or risk their lives to reach Europe, questions are being asked about why wealthy Gulf states have accepted so few.
By the end of August, more than four million Syrians had fled their country but very few if any refugees have been officially accepted by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.