"Will The War End?"

        A young girl named Bana Alabed currently lives in Syria on the eastern side of Aleppo with her family. She and her mother tweet to the world about the bombings in Aleppo. One tweet says, “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. - Bana.” A tweet from her mother says, “Dear world, there’s an intense bombing right now. Why are you silent? Why? Why? Why? Fear is killing me and my kids. - Fatemah #Aleppo.”
The people of Aleppo are in trouble.
        Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, is under attack. Aleppo has been under attack for four years. Aleppo has a population of 2.3 million people and Aleppo was famous for its 13th Century Citadel and its 12th Century Great Mosque. Aleppo was once a tourist destination with its cultural history, is now a seething war zone. This Syrian city has changed drastically over the course of four years.
        This whole problem started as the Syrian people protested peacefully in the streets asking for more freedom, democracy, and free press. The government of Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, promised that they would look into the matter. He started to give his people more access to the internet and a bit of free speech.
       The Syrian people weren't convinced and demanded more democracy, transparency, and freely elected government officials. The protests continued everywhere in Syria and the country was on the verge of collapsing. At this moment, the Syrian president ordered his army to shoot at the protesters to end the civilian unrest. Protesters then organized themselves as rebel groups and opposition leaders. They began to arm themselves so that they can defend their cause. Violence started to spread in Syria which then divided Aleppo into two sections. The western side of Aleppo is owned by the Syrian government, while the eastern side of Aleppo is owned by the rebel forces. Russia supports the Syrian government, but the U.S. supports the rebel forces.
Many Syrians homes have been destroyed during this ongoing war. This caused many families to leave Syria to find a safer place to stay. Many hospitals in Aleppo have been bombed killing many, many people.
        “Over the last six days, about 350 people have been killed, over 1,110 injured.” said Aref al-Aref, an eyewitness who describes the outcome of a hospital attack in Aleppo. “The catastrophe is huge. I saw a whole family die, except for two children. I saw a mother crying after the death of all her family. I saw another mother searching for her family under the rubble. People needed surgeries but there are no rooms to operate in. Only one hospital is functional now.”
        Next, Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, is interviewed at MSNBC and is asked how would he handle Aleppo as president. He responds with, “...that has to be the solution is joining hands with Russia to bring the civil war to an end.” Would you agree or disagree and what would you do?
        More than 4 million Syrian citizens have fled Syria to go to many other countries like Germany, the U.S., the U.K., etc to find another place to stay. More than 400,000 people were injured and more than 200,000 were killed, including children. At this point, ending the conflict between the government and the rebel forces would be the best option whether the Syrian government wins or the rebels forces wins.

Nonfiction Book

      The book I'm currently reading is Maya Angelou Greeting In The Morning by Sarah E. King. This is a biography about Maya Angelou. Marguerite Johnson, also know as, Maya Angelou, is one of America's most famous writers/poets. Growing up, Maya has been through tough experiences in her life, like racism, but that hasn't stopped her from becoming a writer. As a child, Maya was a very bright girl who loved many different writers. She's moved several different times to her mother and her grandmother. Maya grew up with her brother Bailey. They have a very strong relationship and they look out for one another. Maya loved writing and was a smart student in school.

      One passage that I found in the book that was interesting and stuck out to me was that, Maya, who had always been a good student, was given a scholarship to attend the California Labor School when she was 14 years old. She also took evening classes in drama and dance. This passage stuck out to me because when I read it, I felt really happy for her as if she was one of my friends. This also really stuck out to me because I'm also 14 and I haven't even accomplished something that big. I hope that I do. I also have always wanted to receive a scholarship, but that's a one in a million chance. All in all, Maya is a hardworking student and she really deserves that scholarship.

      Some things that I have learned that I will remember in the near future is how much of a great person Maya Angelou is and how creative her work is. I never really knew much about Maya Angelou till I read this book. I always thought she was just a great writer and she's known for her poems. Maya has a very interesting backstory that made me really interested in this book. She writes about self peace and love which I think is really interesting. I hope to read some of her pieces in the future. I also learned that she met Martin Luther King Jr. which I thought was really amazing. She's made it very far in life despite her past. Maya has also created a book called I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I hope to read this book in the future and learn more about herself and more about her past.

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