Aleppo’s Twitter star is dreaming of going home

TURKEY: Bana Alabed, the young Syrian girl who drew global attention with her tweets from Aleppo before being evacuated to Turkey this week, says she hopes to go back to her home town one day and fulfil a dream.

‘‘When I grow up I want to become a teacher and go back to Aleppo and teach the children of Aleppo,’’ Bana said yesterday.

The 7-year-old and her family were led safely from the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo, and met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at his palace in Ankara. Turkey has supported rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar alassad.

With the help of her mother Fatemah, who manages the @Alabedbana account, Bana has shared pictures and videos of life during the nearly six-year Syrian war, amassing some 364,000 followers since joining the microblogging site in September. Her messages have shown her at home or outside, at times inspecting the rubble in besieged Aleppo.

‘‘We used Twitter to make the voice of Aleppo children reach the world,’’ Bana said.

Asked to describe daily life in Aleppo, Bana said: ‘‘There was bombing and our house was bombed but we survived. We felt afraid and went down the basement.

‘‘There were a lot of stones and dust. We were about to die, but thank God we survived.

‘‘My school and my garden were bombed. I miss my house.’’

The events could not be immediately verified. Asked about some critics deeming the account a fake, Fatemah said the speculation made her ‘‘nervous and angry’’.

Asked whether the family were adjusting to their new life in Turkey, Fatemah said in English: ‘‘I am happy that my kids now live in peace and have time to think about their future, and maybe I will make them go to school.’’ - Reuters