A 7-year-old Syrian girl trapped in Aleppo is getting a “Harry Potter” book, courtesy of J.K. Rowling herself.
The author replied to Bana Alabed on Twitter this morning, after the young girl asked Rowling how she could get a copy of the book.
Alabed’s account is controlled by her mother Fatemah, who told Rowling that she and her daughter had watched the “Harry Potter” movie and that Bana wanted to read the book.
Hi @jk_rowling I watched Harry Potter movie, Bana would like to read the book.- Fatemah #Aleppo
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) November 21, 2016
And Rowling responded.
Bana, I hope you do read the book, because I think you'd like it. Sending you lots and lots of love xxx
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
A handful of people on social media took notice of this exchange and began letting Rowling know that Alabed was located in Aleppo, and that they wouldn’t be able to just go to the bookstore and purchase a copy.
I do know that, sadly. I would love to send Bana a book if I could.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) November 21, 2016
Rowling’s representative also took notice and wanted to help Alabed get her book.
Bana, I work for Jo. Would you be able to read an eBook? If so I'd be happy to get a copy over to you.
— Neil Blair (@NeilBlairTBP) November 21, 2016
Thanks! Hope it works out – in the meantime be safe Bana. X
— Neil Blair (@NeilBlairTBP) November 21, 2016
Alabed made headlines in October because of the nature of her Twitter account — she was tweeting accounts of her life in war-torn Syria. Fatemah created her account after Bana asked her to show the world what life in Aleppo is like.
“Bana kept asking me to share our story so the world can understand what is happening to us,” Fatemah told NBC. “I thought of Twitter as a means of getting our message out, especially if we tweet in the English language, so that the voice of the children of Aleppo can be heard.”