Bana Alabed: Seven year-old Aleppo survivor writes book on her experiences of war-torn Syria and life in Turkey

'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'

Chloe Farand
Thursday 13 April 2017 12:25 BST
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Syrian girl Bana al-Abed, known as Aleppo's tweeting girl, poses during an interview in Ankara, Turkey, on December 22, 2016
Syrian girl Bana al-Abed, known as Aleppo's tweeting girl, poses during an interview in Ankara, Turkey, on December 22, 2016 (Getty)

Bana Alabed, the seven-year-old Syrian refugee girl, who captured the world’s attention for tweeting the horrors of Aleppo, is writing a book about her harrowing experience of the war.

She announced the news on her Twitter account and said: “I am happy to announce my book will be published by Simon & schuster. The world must end all the wars now in every part of the world.”

Her memoir, Dead World, will also tell the story of how she and her family escaped the war in Syria and are rebuilding their lives, away from their homeland.

Excited at the prospect of her book, Bana said: “I am so happy to have this opportunity to tell my story and the story of what has happened in Aleppo to the world.

“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.”

Dead World is expected to be published in the autumn of 2017 by international publisher Simon & Schuster and a young reader’s edition by imprint Salaam Reads will follow shortly after and will be made available as an audio book on Simon & Schuster Audio.

Bana has been documented the air strikes over Aleppo since last September after her mother Fatemeh, who teaches her daughter English, helped her set up the Twitter account.

In December, Bana and her family were evacuated from war-torn East Aleppo to Turkey after the city fell back under the control of the Syrian government.

Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster, Christine Pride, said she was “captivated” by Bana’s tweets from Syria.

“Recalling iconic young heroines such as Malala Yousafzai, 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,” she said.

But diplomatic tensions over the Syrian conflict continue to escalate after Russia vetoed a UN resolution condemning Bashar al-Assad's government for its reported use of chemical weapons in Syria and urging a speedy investigation.

The majority of the international community has blamed the attack in Idlib province, which killed 87 people including many children, on President Assad.

The Syrian government has meanwhile denied involvement in the toxic attack, blaming rebel groups.

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