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This 7-year-old Syrian girl is live-tweeting her life in Aleppo

"I want to be a teacher and help others teach."

Gianluca Mezzofiore

on October 3, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Bana is just 7 years old but she knows how to tweet.

A video posted on her Twitter account @alabedbana shows her back as she stands in front of a window, long hair flowing on a green jumper and fingers in her ears. Loud bombs can be heard in the distance, in the Aleppo night.

"Hello world, can you hear that?" she asks.

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"I am very afraid I will die tonight. This bombs will kill me now. - Bana," she signs off.

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Over the past few weeks, Bana Al-Abed and her mum Fatemah have offered a new, damning perspective on the daily life of those living under the bombs in Syria's second city. Besieged Eastern Aleppo, controlled by rebel forces, has witnessed an unrelenting shower of bombs by Russian and Syrian military jets.

As the bombs fall, Bana and Fatemah send tweets.

One of the very first tweets depicted Bana at her desk with a book and her doll in the background. "Good afternoon from Aleppo," the caption read. "I'm reading to forget the war."

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Another photo showed the rubble of a bombed building and the caption: "This is my friend house bombed, she's killed. I miss her so much."

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Sometimes it is Bana's mum who signs off the tweets. "The bomb hit next house, it destroyed building. Today was very difficult worse than yesterday," Fatemah tweeted on Saturday.

The Twitter account has gained at least 11,000 followers since it was started in September, though some people accused it of spreading false propaganda. Fatemah dismissed the criticism, telling the BBC she is disappointed that people have been accusing her of lying.

In a conversation with Mashable via Twitter direct message, Bana explained that she learnt English from her mum, a teacher who's also been studying law at university. "My mum has taught me English since I was very young," she said.

Bana said the war has affected her and her mother in every way possible. "You can't live a normal life. You're always afraid for your life. There's bombing at every time, even at night," she said.

One major issue is the shortage of food and water, Bana told us. There are no fruit or vegetables left in the markets, as the siege has been going on for more than three months. "There's no food. The rice and pasta we stored are running out. Water is dirty and there's shortage too. Good water is damaged," she said.

Electricity comes from solar power, so the internet and telephone line are sketchy.

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Asked why her mum decided to stay in Aleppo, Bana simply replied "Because Aleppo is our city."

As the unrest continues, Bana has grown increasingly frustrated because she can't go outside or to school, and all she can do is draw or play with her brothers.

"I want to be a teacher and help others teach," she said. "But nobody is going to school here except a few children. I haven't seen my friends for a long time, only rarely. We are cut apart."