Spreading news is an increasingly dangerous business in the Middle East these days. But Rami believes the battle is too important to lose. So he types and types. A knock at the door could be a film crew or a mukhabarat officer with a Soviet-era pistol. The ringing of the phone could be an AFP reporter or news of the death of somebody close to him. “I made my choice,” he says, his eyes momentarily diverted from his laptop. “I am sending my friends everyday to the streets. I know they might get arrested, get shot, get tortured … and now when it comes to me, I will not withdraw.”