Harry Potter Fan Bana al-Abed Has Been Safely Evacuated from Aleppo
Dec 19, 2016
Charity, J.K. Rowling, News
Bana al-Abed, a petite 7-year-old girl, rose to notoriety when she began tweeting live updates of the war raging in Syria. Amid comparisons to Anne Frank, she shared fragments of her personal experiences in Aleppo and now has over 320,000 followers. As reported by Bustle, she also gained the attention of none other than J.K. Rowling, who we know to have a heart for charitable aid and children in need.
Bana’s mother, Fatemah, had previously reached out on behalf of her daughter:
“Reading Harry Potter could help Bana forget the terrible war being waged around her. Getting books into the occupied area where Bana and her family live would be almost impossible — but Rowling and her agent Neil Blair came up with a scheme: sending Harry Potter e-books to Aleppo. The plan worked, giving Bana a wonderful world to escape into when her own world became too frightening.”
The wizarding world may have been a welcome comfort to Bana, but it could not keep the reality of encroaching danger at bay indefinitely. Thankfully, many news outlets reported Monday that Bana was among a group of recent evacuees from Aleppo and is now receiving care from the Syrian American Medical Society.
According to the Washington Post, what made Bana’s account so moving was her method of communication. Unlike Anne Frank, whose diary was not published until after her tragic death, Bana had the attention of the world at her fingertips.
“It was the immediacy of Bana’s 140-character messages that made her case unique. Her memories of war and the suffering she described, though, are shared by many other children whose cases have not gone viral.”
Even as we rejoice over Bana’s safety, let’s not forget the many others who continue to suffer. Let’s hope that, like Bana, they also find something to keep their spirits uplifted until the time when they, too, can be rescued. In the words of Albus Dumbledore:
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
