DAY 44 - MAY 3, 2011

For the past week Assad's government has besieged the city of Daraa, escalating the violent substantially. Thousands of Syrian soldiers have stormed the city along with tanks and heavy artillery. Snipers have been using live ammunition against civilians and protesters alike. Water, electricity, and phone lines have been cut and Syria's border with Jordan, along which Daraa is located, has been closed indefinitely.

As the siege of Daraa continues, your frustration grows. The internet has become spotty if at all in the far south of Syria and many of the atrocities that the regime has committed cannot be broadcast to the world. At the same time you are beginning to grow concerned about your safety at your parent's house in Aleppo. You are aware of the government apparatuses used to suss out opposition leaders who are active online. You have been using an anonymizer called Tor to cover your identity and location, however you can't be sure that others in your circle have taken the same types of precautions. If the Muhabharat has found just a few of those spreading dissent online, odds are they will begin create a map of the others involved. It's only a matter of time before the people they have detained give up other names. Everyone rolls at some point. You consider leaving your family home, running away to another activist's house in Aleppo--this one on the other side of town. You don't have any money, though. You're still only a student. If you leave now, your father will renounce you from your family and your religion. He's been very angry with you lately because you haven't been praying as often as you should be. Instead you've been monitoring the progress of the Syrian revolution online. If you want to continue your work with the opposition, something is going to have to change.