Hi I’m Bana, I’m 7 years old girl in Aleppo. I & my mom want to tell about the bombing here. Thank you.
Good afternoon from #Aleppo I'm reading to forget the war. pic.twitter.com/Uwsdn0lNGm
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) September 26, 2016
These simple words introduce the Twitter account of seven-year-old Bana Alabed. Bana is not your average child. She lives in Aleppo in the middle of bombings and airstrikes. The five-year war in Syria has ravaged Aleppo, a city that was once the country’s economic hub but is now torn apart by fighting between government troops and rebel forces.
Bombs falling now #Aleppo
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 2, 2016
The horrors of this long war is a daily reality that the young girl has to live with. She has been revealing the terrors of the violence through Twitter. She takes help from her mother Fatemah, a teacher who often contributes to the Twitter account as well.
Doctors in #Aleppo leave some people to die and treat those who have chance to survive . That's #Aleppo dear world. - Fatemah
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 1, 2016
The child reaches out to the world despite poor internet with solar energy as the only hope for electricity. The Twitter account has garnered worldwide attention through the intimate accounts of the devastation in Aleppo.
I am very afraid I will die tonight. This bombs will kill me now. - Bana #Aleppo pic.twitter.com/KqVHwqRClK
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 2, 2016
Despite the widespread support and media coverage, many have conveyed scepticism about ‘how a child can write in such perfect English’. In a Skype interview with BBC , Fatemah says how disappointing the negative feedback is and how Bana writes about the issues from her heart. She added that, “We are not terrorists. We are not ISIS…We are all innocent here.”
According to a report by Unicef , over 96 children have been killed and 223 have been injured in eastern Aleppo last week. “The children of Aleppo are trapped in a living nightmare,” said Unicef deputy executive director Justin Forsyth. “There are no words left to describe the suffering they are experiencing.”
The account’s last tweet is a ominous tweet that says, “Bomb bomb bomb…we don’t know if we will die tonight, please please pray for us, I promise I keep tweeting the whole night- Fatemah #Aleppo”
Bomb bomb bomb...we don't know if we will die tonight, please please pray for us, I promise I keep tweeting the whole night- Fatemah #Aleppo
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 2, 2016