“I need peace.”
These three simple but profound words were tweeted by a seven-year-old girl, who has curious, large round dark brown eyes and a bright smile that could light up a room.
This might describe many seven-year-old girls, but the difference with this young lady is that her bright smile shines out of a place that does not see very many smiles these days: she was living in the rubble and devastation of what used to be Aleppo, in war-torn Syria.
Her name is Bana al-Abed, and she became a well-known face around the world as she tweeted out pictures of herself and of her horrible surroundings, including one picture of herself with a tooth that came out.
Just seeing the picture by itself, you can see that she’s a beautiful little girl who probably likes to run and play and have fun — but she lives in a war zone, and saw things that no seven-year-old girl should ever have to see, with bombs raining down and gunfire erupting at all hours of the day and night. Thus, there are photos of her in front of buildings that have been destroyed by the unending mortars and bombs that have landed on that city, and photos of her hiding.
“I need peace.”
These words are all the more poignant when you see the horrors of a city that is being literally pounded into the ground mercilessly by forces who really, really don’t care at all about human life.
So, in a real sense, she was speaking for all the other little children also caught in that situation who aren’t able to tweet out their pleas and impressions to the world at large.
Bana and her mother were finally evacuated out of the east part of Aleppo, as they were part of a large convoy that was finally able to leave with other civilians also caught in that area. This came about after a period of time when no one was sure if she and her mom were even alive anymore.
“I need peace.”
These words are still a relevant plea, because she still lives in a country of war and strife, and like millions of other Syrians, Bana’s future is still very, very uncertain.
In this Christmas season, her words could also stand for those seven-year-olds who maybe don’t live in a war zone, but who yearn for peace in their homes and families nonetheless. There are many children in impoverished circumstances in Third World countries, and even in the more affluent West, including here in Canada and here in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. There are seven-year-olds who are part of families that are struggling to make it through, and they may very well be able to relate to Bana’s heart-felt wish.
“I need peace.”
