Malala Yousafzai has marveled us since 2012 when she survived an attack on her life and used her platform to further her acts of activism. The 19-year old has been using her voice to advocate for girls education around the world, is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, and even wrote a memoir.
Malala recently spoke up about horrific events taking place in Aleppo on the Malala Fund Facebook page on Wednesday, December 14th. Her full statement is as follows:
"Today I feel as though I’m watching the worst of our past repeat itself.
When I look at Syria, I see the Rwandan genocide. When I read the desperate words of Bana Alabed in Aleppo, I see Anne Frank in Amsterdam.
History shows us the same children suffering, the ones we always say we surely would have helped, if only we had been there. But history does not fall from the sky, it is us who make it.
To the children under siege in Aleppo, I pray that you will get out safely. I pray that you will grow up strong, go to school and see peace in your country some day.
But prayers are not enough. We must act. The international community must do everything they can to end to this inhumane war. The Syrian regime must give safe passage to people who want to leave and allow aid workers into Aleppo to save as many lives as they can.
May God be with the children of Aleppo, even if our world leaders are not."
Although Malala is known for fighting for children's rights her words had a particular impact. The events in Syria have been particularly highlighted by its impact on the children. From the tweets of Bana Alabed to the images and videos of young children we have followed countless children through the crisis. But many people stop at those pictures and videos and forget about problems that do not affect their daily lives until it pops up on their Facebook feed again.
However, learning about the crisis civilians are living with every day has nothing to do with being affiliated with a specific set of views. Instead, it has to deal with supporting others and their rights to a certain way of life.
Since 2012, nearly 400,000 civilians are estimated to have died in the Syrian Civil War causing an inlfux of refugees trying to escape the turmoil. On December 16th the evacuation pact made by President Assad to allow for evacuations was halted preventing a lot of civilians from potentially getting to safety. Discussions for the taking of all of Aleppo will take place between Russia and Syria on December 27th with Iran and Turkey in attendance.
Many people may wonder what they can do to help. It is simple. Donate; to well-researched organizations, educate; both yourself and those around you, and use your voice; in any way you can big or small. These small acts can amount to large changes, even we do not see immediate changes.
