New Memoir Coming from war-torn Aleppo

Every day, we open the newspaper, Twitter accounts, Facebook or news apps and see what’s happening around the world. We are bombarded with information but how much of the ground reality do we really understand? We comfortably sip our tea when someone is dying of thirst in a desert. Our kids run for their school bus when children in some countries have their schools blown apart. At the end of the day, we are eager to get back to the comfort of our homes but many do not have a place to call home.

It is only when we read first-hand accounts of war stories or lives in such areas that we are somewhat moved. But we wouldn’t realize what a mother in Afghanistan, or a child in Gaza goes through.

Unmasking the face of war to the whole world, through her memoir is seven year old Syrian peace campaigner and Twitter activist, Bana Al-Abed. The little girl’s tweets from Aleppo about the civil war in Syria gained international attention and turned her into a celebrity.

Al-Abed’s Twitter account, @AlabedBana, was created on September 24, 2016. The account has over 360,000 followers and is managed by Bana’s mother Fatemah. On December 4, 2016, during the 17th Aleppo offensive, her account was taken down, but it was back up within two days and she has been tweeting since.

Documenting the impact of hunger, airstrikes and civil war, Bana caught the imagination of followers with her longing for a peaceful childhood and fear for the safety of herself and her family.

In a statement issued through her publisher, Bana added: “I hope my book will make the world do something for the children and people of Syria and bring peace to children all over the world who are living in war.”

Likening her to Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who was given refugee status in the UK after being shot in a horrific attack, Simon &Schuster senior editor Christine Pride said: “Bana’s experiences and message transcend the headlines, and pierce through the political noise and debates, to remind us of the human cost of war and displacement.” The publisher will also launch a young readers’ edition under its Salaam Reads imprint.

Bana, through her Twitter account has also called on Theresa May to help Syrian children at risk of losing their lives in the country’s ongoing civil war.
Bana tweeted an image of the letter to the British prime minister, which she said had been written with her mother’s help.

“I am looking for help for the suffering of the people of Syria,” it said. “Can you send them medicine, doctors, water and milk? Have you seen the young children who are weak and dying because of hunger? I have seen them. They live if we give only food but no one cares. I am very sad.”

According to UN estimates, at least 15,000 children are among more than 300,000 people who have been killed in Syria’s six-year civil war, with thousands of others displaced. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that nearly 2,000 children were among the estimated 16,913 civilians who died in 2016 alone.

Thousands have been displaced so far in the fighting. Hundreds of civilians have been killed or injured in the weeks since the latest offensive was announced.

Residents told of great deprivation in the remaining, besieged opposition areas, with relentless bombing by warplanes and artillery shelling amid cuts in basic services, such as water and electricity. Few people have access to clean water and food and medical supplies have been exhausted in the campaign.

Dear World, which will be published this fall, by Simon & Schuster will recount Bana’s experiences of war and flight from her war-torn country. This is one book that will definitely linger in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page!