For those of you who don’t know, Banksy is the pseudonym for an English street artist who rose to prominence in the 1990s. Part of Banksy’s artistic appeal comes from the fact that his or her true identity is unknown. Banksy’s works are often characterized by stenciled artworks containing provocative political messages. Some of the locations of these artworks are on the West Bank barrier, between Israel and Palestine, New York City, and most recently, opposite the French Embassy in London.
The recently painted mural creates a modified version of the poster from the French Musical, Les Misérables. It illustrates a little girl, who is most probably a refugee, crying from the effect of a can of CS gas. Additionally, there is also a QR code which, when opened, is directed to a YouTube video depicting the use of tear gas and rubber bullets in the Calais “jungle” refugee camp in France on Jan. 5.
This has not been Banksy’s first response to the ongoing refugee crisis. In December, 2015, Banksy painted a mural of Steve Jobs carrying a sack over his shoulder and a Macintosh computer on the other hand. On the artist’s website, the picture was captioned “the son of a Syrian migrant.” Interestingly, this mural appeared in the same refugee camp in Calais that was depicted in the YouTube video.
Banksy has actively been raising awareness of the harsh treatment of refugees in Europe. This issue deserves the attention. What’s saddening, though, is the fact that these much smaller European nations have been significantly more active in relocating Syrian refugees within their borders than the United States. It is saddening to see this seemingly perpetual stigma associated with refugees. While Germany has opened its borders to all Syrian refugees, the U.S. is willing to take 85,000 refugees in total (this number is not exclusive to Syrian refugees). Considering the magnitude of the catastrophe, this is simply not enough. Banksy is helping raise awareness for an important issue in today’s world, and if any change is to come about, awareness is the first step to making it happen.