DAY 60 - MAY 19, 2011
Following the Siege of Daraa, the Syrian Army has continued to stifle opposition forces by laying siege to other cities with popular uprising. In the past two weeks the cities of Homs, Baniyas, Tafas, Talkalakh, and the suburbs of Damascus have been raided with government tanks and soldiers. Government forces have also cut supply lines to Daraa in an attempt to prevent food from reaching the embattled city. Today US President Barack Obama has announced that economic sanctions will be imposed on Syria in reaction to the human rights violations committed by President Bashar Al Assad.
The food shortage in Daraa has caused you, Emad and Yara to cut back to one meal a day. Usually that means basic Kibbeh or Shwarma shared between the three of you. You have not left the house in four days because of the tanks that perpetually roll down the street. One of their cannons even hit the building across from you, opening a large chasm into the livingroom of the apartment on the second floor. You are desperately worried about Ali in Damascus, if that's where he is really located. You are not sure if he is lying to you, if it is for your own protection. Or perhaps it is for his. You have Skyped with him several times. His smile is still warm but his eyes are rheumier now, like he is holding back a deep anger. He has told you that a militia has formed called the Free Syrian Army. He tells you he is one of their commanders. Again, he tells you this will not end quickly.