‘Aleppo is being destroyed by the silence of the world’

“Aleppo is being destroyed by the silence of Arabs and the entire world.”

The phrase speaks volumes about the massacre unfolding in war-ravaged Aleppo while the world watches helplessly. The quote is translated from one of the top Twitter worldwide trends, #حلب_تباد_بسكوت_العرب_والعالم.

Powerful messages accompanied the hashtag along with images of injured and dead children, sending a message that can’t be overlooked: The people dying in Syria are real. We cannot ignore them.

Or as one woman said, “We can’t say we didn’t know.”

Syria’s Civil Defense volunteer rescue group, who call themselves the White Helmets, painted a dire picture of the situation:

“We hear children crying, we hear calls for help, but we just can’t do anything. We’re being bombed continuously.”

Humanitarian groups outlined the moral imperative to help the victims of Aleppo, especially the children.

Amnesty International said the bloodshed in Aleppo may be “war crimes.”

How to help Syrians survive

Some Syrians posted “goodbye” messages from eastern Aleppo on Tuesday morning as government forces closed in on the last remaining pockets of the shrinking rebel-held area.

Bana Alabed, the young Syrian girl who has captured global attention with her tweets from Aleppo, has shared several messages this week saying each one was her last. On Tuesday, she posted yet another – this time with even more finality.

“My name is Bana, I’m 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East #Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die,” Alabed wrote on Twitter.

Naima Kouider provided Arabic translation for this story.