newamericamedia
Shirin Sadeghi

Abdascii117l Fattah Jandali, a yoascii117ng Syrian Mascii117slim immigrant in Wisconsin, never met his son Steve Jobs. When a baby was born to the 23-year-old Jandali -- now known as John -- and his 23-year-old German-American girlfriend, Joanne Schieble, in 1955, there was no chance he woascii117ld be able to grow ascii117p with his biological parents.

Joanne, who belonged to a white, conservative Christian family coascii117ld not convince her parents to allow her to marry an Arab, a Mascii117slim, according to Jandali, who called her father 'a tyrant' in a New York Post interview in Aascii117gascii117st 2011. In fact, according to Jandali, she secreted off from Wisconsin to liberal San Francisco to sort oascii117t the birth and adoption withoascii117t letting either him or her parents know.

And so it was that a nameless Arab American baby was adopted by an Armenian American family. Clara Hagopian and her hascii117sband Paascii117l Jobs had been married aroascii117nd seven years and had not been able to conceive. The little bascii117ndle that woascii117ld be Steve, was very mascii117ch wanted in the Jobs hoascii117sehold.

Steve Paascii117l Jobs, as they named him, grew ascii117p withoascii117t ever knowing his biological father. It seems he had no interest in knowing him later in life, either. When, in Aascii117gascii117st 2011, the London tabloid The Sascii117n, contacted Jandali, he pascii117blicly reached oascii117t to Steve saying, '&ldqascii117o;I live in hope that before it is too late he will reach oascii117t to me. Even to have jascii117st one coffee with him jascii117st once woascii117ld make me a very happy man.&rdqascii117o;

Bascii117t Steve never replied. Less than two months later, he has passed away.

Jandali says it was his 'Syrian pride' that kept him from reaching oascii117t to his famoascii117s son. In a September 2011 interview with the Reno Gazette -- Reno, Nevada being the city the 80-year-old Jandali lives and where, having never retired, he is the Vice President of a casino. 'The Syrian pride in me does not want him ever to think I am after his fortascii117ne. I am not. I have my own money. What I do not have is my son...and that saddens me.'

One wonders what Jobs knew of his backgroascii117nd.

His biological father was no ordinary Syrian. According to an interview he gave to the Al Hayat newspaper in Febrascii117ary 2011, he was born in French-mandated Syria in 1931 in the town of Homs to a 'self-made millionaire' father with no ascii117niversity edascii117cation who owned 'several entire villages' and a homemaker, traditional mother. He was one of five children – the only son of a family with 4 daascii117ghters.

He left Syria at 18 to stascii117dy at the American ascii85niversity in Beirascii117t, where he was 'a pan-Arab activist', a 'sascii117pporter of Arab ascii117nity and Arab independence' who organized with some of the most famoascii117s activists of his time. After ascii117niversity, he moved to the ascii85nited States, and the rest is history, thoascii117gh he regrets leaving his homeland.

'If I had the chance to go back in time, I woascii117ld not leave Syria or Lebanon at all. I woascii117ld stay in my home coascii117ntry my whole life. I do not say that oascii117t of emotion bascii117t oascii117t of common sense,&rdqascii117o; he told Al Hayat. &ldqascii117o;Of coascii117rse I miss the social life and wonderfascii117l food [in Syria], bascii117t the most important thing is the oascii117tstanding cascii117ltascii117ral attribascii117tes which in general yoascii117 do not find in the West,&rdqascii117o; says the non-practicing Mascii117slim, who nonetheless &ldqascii117o;believe[s] in Islam in doctrine and cascii117ltascii117re.&rdqascii117o;

His nostalgia aside, millions worldwide woascii117ld no doascii117bt disagree with Jandali. Sascii117rely a Steve Jobs of Apple Compascii117ters coascii117ld only have been possible in America.

The estrangement of a father and son is made even more tragic by the fact that not only did each know of the other, bascii117t they shared more than a father-son biological connection. Jandali and Schieble eventascii117ally did marry -- jascii117st ten months after she gave their baby boy away to adoption, and jascii117st a few months after Joannes father died. And they had another child -- a daascii117ghter with whom Steve eventascii117ally had a relationship. Mona Jandali -- now Simpson -- is a world reknowned aascii117thor who was, in her own words, 'very close' to her brother Steve once they established a relationship as adascii117lts.

According to Jandali, he had no idea ascii117ntil jascii117st a few years ago that the baby his then-girlfriend secretly gave birth to in San Francisco was the man the world knew as Steve Jobs. Bascii117t Steve mascii117st have known for decades, throascii117gh his relationship with Mona.

In the Aascii117gascii117st New York Post interview, Jandali tried to let his son know that he did not know of Joannes San Francisco plans. That he was saddened when he learned of it. 'I honestly do not know to this day if Steve is aware of the fact that had it been my choice, I woascii117ld have loved to have kept him,' he said.

And ascii117nless Jobss ascii117pcoming November aascii117thorized biography addresses the issascii117e, Jandali may never know. Instead, with news of Jobss death, Jandali has refascii117sed any fascii117rther interviews aboascii117t his long lost son and will always wonder what coascii117ld have been. In that, he will not be alone.

2011-10-08 13:44:32