Palestinian teenager Farah Baker’s poignant account of an Israeli bombardment on her home has made her one of Gaza’s most powerful online voices, representing the many children living through the conflict. Farah captured international attention after she live-tweeted throughout the attack last week, with pictures, audio clips and video footage. Tweeting as @Farah_Gazan, the teen who says that she had 800 followers at the beginning of the conflict, now has more than 160,000.
“This is in my area. I can’t stop crying. I might die tonight” read one of her tweets, which was shared thousands of times. As was: “I’m 16yrs old and have witnessed 3 wars, as I see, this is the hardest one.”
In an interview with Sky News, Farah said she was compelled to tweet throughout the night by the belief that “someone should do something”, and that she wanted to set the record straight regarding what she called a war on civilians.
While social media is being used by both sides, with #IsraelUnderFire and #GazaUnderAttack hashtags both in use and attempting to influence global opinion, Farah has certainly struck a chord with people around the world, with her open account of what it’s like to be an ordinary civilian living in a warzone. When asked about the support she has received on Twitter, she said: “They like me because I write the truth.”
Farah is a powerful reminder that, thanks to technology, you don’t have to be a world leader or a politician to get your message out there. And she has prompted quite a response, with international press attention, including an #AskFarah Q&A with Sky News and an interview with American news channel NBC. Meanwhile, as the conflict nears the end of its fourth week, political tension has grown in the UK with the resignation of Foreign Office minister, Baroness Warsi, who announced her decision to stand down in protest at the Government’s policy on the crisis, where else, but on Twitter.
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