DAY 550 - SEPTEMBER 16, 2012
Human Rights Watch estimates that 20,000 people have died during the Syrian conflict. Videos start to emerge on the internet showing rebel soldiers executing four Assad loyalists. The recording leaves the international community aghast, concluding that Syrian opposition forces are also guilty of atrocity. Assad's air force counters by indiscriminately bombing bread lines in Aleppo. In reaction to the Bashar Al Assad's blatant disregard for human life, Syrian prime minister Riyad Hijab defects, calling the regime "barbaric for killing unarmed people." Meanwhile, after Russian and China block peace resolution processes among other diplomatic deadlocks, Kofi Annan steps down as head of the UN's special envoy to Syria. It is a major blow towards the solution of the crisis. With the UN proving ineffectual, Iran confirms that its revolutionary guard is assisting the Assad Regime with intelligence and financial resources. They are the first third party to openly announce their involvement in the conflict.
You have been underground, in Tadmor prison, for close to nine months now. Your fingernails are turning yellow due to lack of sunlight. But more importantly, you have a urinary tract infection that you fear may kill you if not treated properly. You've tried getting the guards' attention but it's no use. You are curled up on the dirty stone of the cell, unable to move because of the pain. The only thing you look forward to is returning to your hometown of Aleppo, walking its streets again, but now perhaps only in the afterlife. Jeremy, one of the American journalists, has disappeared somewhere in the declivities of this horrible catacomb. You haven't seen him in weeks. However, the other American journalist, is still being held in your cell. He is in a similarly destroyed state as you, but the guards always tend to his infections. The government seemingly needs to keep him alive. The American might be worth something to someone someday. You, on the other hand, are worth nothing to anyone. You think your only hope of survival is if Assad's regime falls and NATO or another peacekeeping operation can liberate this hellish place. You have no idea what's happening outside of your dank cell. This is your only world now. This is where you live and this is where you die, in this small dark box.