Live Chat 1 p.m. ET: Inside the Struggle for Syria

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November 8, 2011

While grainy cell phone videos of violent attacks on Syrian protesters are making it out of the country, independent journalists are rarely making it in. Reporter Ramita Navai risked her life to document the day-to-day realities of the uprising and President Bashar al-Assad’s ruthless efforts to crush it.

During her two weeks undercover in Syria, Ramita embedded with activists and documented the network of safe houses and secret hospitals the resistance has setup as the struggle — now approaching its eighth month — persists in the face of almost daily attacks from security forces.

How did Ramita get into Syria and earn the activists’ trust? Is there an end in sight for their struggle? And what are the implications of Syria’s uprising for the region and for the future of the “Arab Spring?” Could this be its decisive turning point?

We’ve asked correspondent Ramita Navai and New York Times reporter Anthony Shadid — featured in “The Regime,” the second part of this report — to join us for a live chat to discuss these questions and answer yours. Submit questions in the chat box below anytime, and join us at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday November 9th.

We’ll also be joined by Foreign Policy associate editor David Kenner, our guest questioner.

“Syria Undercover” correspondent Ramita Navia is a reporter for the Channel 4 (UK) series Unreported World. Her recent films include include “El Salvador: The Child Assassins,” “USA: Down and Out”, and “Breaking Into Israel”. She has written for The Times of London, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Guardian and Marie Claire. You can follow her on Twitter @ramitanavai

Anthony Shadid is a foreign correspondent and Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times. Over a 15-year career, he has reported from across the Middle East. Shadid won the two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of the Iraq War. Read his most recent reporting on Syria here. You can follow him on Twitter @anthonyshadid

Our guest questioner David Kenner is an associate editor at Foreign Policy magazine. He has written for The New Republic, The Weekly Standard, and Slate, among other publications. You can follow him on Twitter @davidkenner


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