JK Rowling Sends Harry Potter E-Books to Young Fan in War-torn Aleppo

Seven-year-old Bana Alabed shouldn’t be subjected to the horrors of war or witness the destruction that comes along with it, but in the besieged city of Aleppo, Syria, that’s the case for many Syrian children.

But unlike some, Alabed found solace in the fictional realm of literature – information she shared with her 136K Twitter followers, tweeting that she reads "to forget the war." 

Good afternoon from #Aleppo I'm reading to forget the war. pic.twitter.com/Uwsdn0lNGm

— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) September 26, 2016

Alabed's Twitter account was set up by her mother Fatemah in September "to share our life here [with] the world," she told CNN.  

But there is no better escape than the magical construct that is JK Rowling's masterpiece, Harry Potter, which alabed had no access to up until very recently.

Last week, Alabed took to Twitter to tell the famed author that she had watched the movies and loved them, and that she would like to read the book series as well. Rowling responded with characteristic affability, replying: "Bana, I hope you do read the book, because I think you'd like it. Sending you lots and lots of love xxx."

Soon after Alabed's mother asked how to obtain the books, a member from Rowling's team got in touch via Twitter to arrange for the e-books to be sent to her. 

@jk_rowling @missguppy1 @AlabedBana 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

Hello my friend @jk_rowling, I started reading your books now, my heart is for you. Thank you. - Bana #Aleppo #StandWithAleppo pic.twitter.com/MHtOIFzwuI

— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) November 24, 2016