In the midst of a disastrous conflict that has been largely ignored, a mother and daughter have taken to Twitter to compel the world to pay attention to devastation in Aleppo. Bana al-Abed, 7, and her mother, Fatemah, are now using Twitter to tell a desperate story of fear and survival as bombs drop from the sky.
Violence in Syria has escalated over a 5 year time span with some of the most hard to digest images appearing over the last several weeks. The brunt of this conflict has fallen disproportionately on the lives of women and girls.
Morning, we are still alive but are you waiting us be dead as all our next houses are bombed now?. -Fatemah #Aleppo pic.twitter.com/Y3xzITYUdz
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 6, 2016
We are very afraid right now for our lives, we are in danger. We don't know how long we will survive. – Fatemah #Aleppo
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 6, 2016
They have also asked users to use the hashtag #SaveAleppo to bring attention to the crisis.
https://twitter.com/AlabedBana/status/783281252153589760
Users from all of the world have responded.
https://twitter.com/ISMAIL2326/status/783354806014443521
.@Presidency_Sy Murdering thousands of innocent civilians to target a handful of rebels on the ground is a war crime. #SaveAleppo #SaveSyria
— Cynthia O'Leary (@RoseWrites) October 4, 2016
#SaveAleppo We pray for you. Stay safe. There are people in the world who cares about you
— Margarida Serra (@M1966SERRA) October 4, 2016
While the mother and daughter have been largely supported by their growing network of nearly 55 thousand followers, some have questioned the legitimacy of the Tweets. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accused the account of being run by terrorists and fake accounts are rampant.
Bana al-Abed responded to the accusation from Assad on Twitter, posting: “I’m not a terrorist, I just want to live and no bombing please.” Her mother also responded in a recent web interview with the BBC. “All the words come from the heart,” Fatemah said. “All are the truth.”
