“This is who she was, absolutely who she was and what she believed in: cover the story, not just have pictures of it, but bring it to life in the deepest way you could.” – Rosemarie Colvin, mother of Marie Colvin.

Marie Colvin lived that philosophy to the very end. Her last dispatch from Homs — her last dispatch ever — is haunting and overwhelming. If you haven’t read it, do it now.

A baby born in the basement last week looked as shellshocked as her mother, Fatima, 19, who fled there when her family’s single-storey house was  obliterated. “We survived by a miracle,” she whispers. Fatima is so  traumatised that she cannot breastfeed, so the baby has been fed only sugar and water; there is no formula milk.

That baby must be wondering what the hell she’s gotten herself into.

A damaged house in the Bab Sabaa neighbourhood of Homs. REUTERS/Moulhem Al-Jundi