Better Connected by Tanya Lloyd Kyi & Julia Kyi

Author:Tanya Lloyd Kyi & Julia Kyi [Kyi, Tanya Lloyd & Kyi, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: lcsh: Social media—Juvenile literature, lcsh: Online social networks—Juvenile literature, lcsh: Girls—Social life and customs—Juvenile literature, lcsh: Internet and children—Juvenile literature, lcsh: Internet and women—Juvenile literature
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2022-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

Between 2011 and 2021, more than 5.5 million Syrians fled to neighboring countries. Another 6.5 million lost or left their homes and sought safety in other parts of the country.

Qasioun News Agency - YouTube/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0

Unexpected Windows

Bana Alabed could hear a plane overhead, growing louder and louder.

Time to go home, her teacher said. It was too dangerous to stay at school.

But seven-year-old Bana was only partway to her house when she heard a huge explosion behind her. A bomb destroyed her school.

Bana was caught in the middle of the 2016 siege of Aleppo, Syria. Because anti-government groups had control of the city, the government cut all supply lines. Store shelves were bare. Overhead, Russian warplanes supported the government with repeated air strikes.

To a seven-year-old, this meant days of eating only rice and macaroni. It meant constant fear. Lack of sleep. And it meant losing her friend Yasmin, who was killed by yet another bombing.

“Does anyone know what has happened to us?” Bana asked her mom.

Inspired by her daughter’s words, Bana’s mom opened a Twitter account so Bana could tell her own story to the world.

My name is Bana, I’m 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die.

She continued documenting her experiences for months, giving outsiders an intimate and frightening look at what her life was like. Soon she had hundreds of thousands of followers.

In December, six months after the siege began, Bana’s family found temporary safety in Turkey. And a year later Bana published a book about her experiences.

Did Bana’s online actions stop a war or save lives? No. But they helped thousands of people around the world understand what was happening in Syria…all through the eyes of a girl.

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