Bana al-Abed

Bana al-Abed
Born	(2009-06-07) June 7, 2009 Aleppo, Syria
Occupation	Social media activist
Known for	Chronicling the siege of Aleppo via Twitter

Bana al-Abed (; born 7 June 2009) is a young Syrian girl from Aleppo, Syria who, with the assistance of her English-speaking mother, utilized Twitter to chronicle the siege of Aleppo. Through her tweets, she reported on air raids, devastation, hunger, displacement, threats against her family’s safety, as well as pleas for peace.

The Twitter handle @AlabedBana was established on 24 September 2016 and holds official verification from Twitter. Managed by her mother Fatemah, the profile has attracted close to 370,000 followers. During the 17th Aleppo offensive, the account was temporarily disabled but was reinstated within two days and continued to share updates.

Early life

Before the conflict began, Bana’s mother Fatemah worked as an English instructor. Her father Ghassan served as a lawyer for the local council in southeastern Aleppo and sustained injuries on 21 December 2016. Bana has two younger siblings named Noor and Mohamed. Initially aspiring to become a teacher herself, Bana ceased attending school after it was destroyed amid the war.

In November 2016, after Bana’s Twitter account expressed difficulty obtaining a physical copy locally, author J. K. Rowling sent her an ebook version of Harry Potter. Later that month, their residence was destroyed by bombing; the family survived with only minor injuries.

Following the government’s offensive in Aleppo, Turkey and Russia reached an agreement for a ceasefire and the evacuation of both rebels and civilians. When evacuations were delayed, Fatemah mentioned that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu indicated ongoing efforts to facilitate their exit. On 19 December 2016, Bana was among approximately 350 individuals evacuated from areas formerly controlled by rebels in Aleppo.

After leaving Aleppo, Bana clarified in an interview that her father’s injuries resulted from a bombing targeting their home in the Sukari district. On 21 December, Bana and her family were formally granted permission to reside in Turkey and publicly met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

On 7 April 2017, Bana’s Twitter account expressed support for the Shayrat missile strike ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump as a response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack. Subsequently, on 12 May 2017, Turkish President Erdoğan awarded Turkish citizenship to Bana and her family.

In October 2017, Bana traveled to New York where she appeared via a recorded message at the Headquarters of the United Nations, calling for international efforts to end the conflict.

Her memoir titled Dear World was published by Simon & Schuster. In recognition of her impact, Bana received the Rising Star Award at The Asian Awards in 2018.

Criticism

The account encountered significant opposition, with coordinated campaigns aimed at publicly disputing its content. It received notable criticism from advocates of the Syrian regime and their Russian supporters, who alleged that Bana and her mother were instruments of American propaganda targeting Syria and Russia.

A journalist from The New Yorker observed that her video messages frequently seemed rehearsed, implying that her mother may have guided her in articulating complex ideas in a language she was still acquiring.

Additionally, the account shared a tweet—since removed—that declared it would be "better to start 3rd world war instead of letting Russia & Assad commit #HolocaustAleppo," which sparked further debate and controversy.

External links

• Detailed examination of the account by Bellingcat