Dear World: 'Syria's Anne Frank' Bana Alabed retells Aleppo war horror in new book
Dear World: 'Syria's Anne Frank' Bana Alabed retells Aleppo war horror in new book
Eight-year-old Bana Alabed, who became known around the world as Syria's Anne Frank, has written a war diary, retelling her harrowing experience of siege and bombardment.
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Bana is travelling in the United States to promote her book [Twitter/@AlabedBana]
Eight-year-old Bana Alabed, who became known around the world as Syria's Anne Frank, has written a war diary, retelling her harrowing experience of siege and bombardment.
In Dear World, published on Tuesday, Bana recalls the bloody battle for Aleppo in 2016 between the Syrian regime and rebels, who eventually lost control of the city.
The book released in stores and online, with Amazon describing it as a "powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, the unconquerable courage of a child, and the abiding power of hope."
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has also been promoting the book on her social media calling it "the testimony of a child who has endured the unthinkable."
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 3, 2017
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Bana came to international attention with her Twitter account, which is run by her mother Fatemah, that gave a tragic account of the assault on Aleppo by the regime and its allies.
"I didn't know what it was when the first big bomb came. It was just a regular day," she writes in the book.
"Suddenly there was a BOOM! It was the loudest noise I had ever heard in my life, a noise so big you could feel it in your body, not just hear it. The sound and the surprise made my body feel like jelly," she adds.
Bana is travelling in the United States to promote her book.
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) October 1, 2017
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Bana and her family were evacuated from Aleppo to Turkey following the defeat of the rebels.
In May, she was granted Turkish citizenship in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Bana told The New Arab in December 2016 that she would one day return to her hometown of Aleppo.
"I'll keep on tweeting to teach the world about what we went through and how we had our homes bombed, felt hungry and cold before we were forced to leave," she said.
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I will go back to my city Aleppo when the bombing stops and I will study English so I can continue to spread the message of our suffering |  |
"I will go back to my city Aleppo when the bombing stops and I will study English so I can continue to spread the message of our suffering," she added.
Assad loyalists and online trolls have slammed the young girl and her mother's messages as propaganda with some even alleging the Twitter account was fake.
