Editor's note: CNN's Arwa Damon is reporting from inside Syria , where the government has been placing restrictions on international journalists and refusing many of them entry at all. Residents and opposition activists say they fear for their lives as shelling and snipers leave them trapped.
CNN is not disclosing Damon's location for her safety. Below are dispatches from her on what she's seeing and hearing from residents in the area.
It’s an incredibly intense situation here. It’s also incredibly emotional. Anger is running at an all-time high, as are frustration and desperation. People that we've been talking to, every single one of them has some sort of horrific nightmare or story, and some of them are still too afraid to talk about it publicly with their names attached to it.
One man we met, he had four members of his family executed as government forces, he said, were raiding their village. And he wanted to tell the story – he wanted to put out the images of loved ones. He was afraid because he said at the same time his uncle had been detained.
A lot of the younger generation, we’re talking to university students, they've all had to drop out and people repeatedly keep expressing how difficult it is for them to try to keep going, because they’re quite simply exhausted and they have lost so many loved ones.
Every single step that they take of every single day involves a phenomenal amount of plotting, whether it's something simple like trying to get a loaf of bread or something more complicated like trying to get someone who’s been wounded to some sort of medical care.
In the areas where the government crackdown is at its worst, people say there are snipers positioned on every single street corner. You could hardly cross a main thoroughfare without coming across a government sniper. And then of course there are all of the tanks and the government checkpoints.
What is quite interesting is how the varied opposition members have managed to set up information networks. They’re able to disseminate government (troop) positions and information fairly quickly.
We were witness to one bit of information that came through, where someone had gotten information via a network of just passing word on and having people jump on motorcycles to try to get it to the next village over, about a mass movement of government tanks.
That of course, as you can imagine, sparked widespread panic, because people did not know initially where (the tanks) were headed. But then a defector who had defected from that particular convoy showed up at this location, and he informed people of where the convoy was heading. And they were able to inform those people at that location of the government’s location as well.
On that level, there is in place a fairly sophisticated way of trying to get information out, but at the same time, it’s fairly primitive – because you have to remember that for most of the time, there is no cell phone or landline network to try to call people. So it’s all about trying to get word of mouth as fast as possible from one village, from one neighborhood to the other.
CNN asked local residents where they stand on the current situation and if the opposition thinks it can topple this regime.
They believe at the end of the day, at some point in time, who knows when, the regime is going to fall – that quite simply, they cannot go back, and Syria will not go back, to the way that it was.
But one young activist that I was speaking to put it this way: He said, “If there is military intervention, then yes, there will be a lot of bloodshed, but it’s going to be over a lot quicker. And if there isn’t military intervention, there is going to be even more bloodshed, and it’s going to take a lot longer to bring down the regime.”
What a lot of people are understanding and accepting at this stage is that this is going to be a bloody battle, that more lives are going to be lost, and that perhaps the bigger challenge for Syria too is going to be after the regime topples.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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@ banasy:
I know that propaganda works both ways.
BTW, an almost mythical master of it, Tokyo Rose, used to walk her two big dogs by my house every day on the Near North Side.
I find the media taunts for us to go to war insulting, as if the articles were written by unemployed community organizers accustomed to guiding only the most disenfranchised.
*** community organizers ....
So your propaganda doesnt have an agenda ?
Ah, but most of these articles are written by the gainfully employed...
I get your gist, however, and I agree, for the most part.
The Near North Side is still awfully cool.
FOR SALE.
Planet Earth.
Nice fixer upper.
Air and water need to be cleaned.
Planet needs to be fumigated, it has been infected by humans.
Make offer.
Zontar Galactic Real Estate.
well the world had enough with USA propaganda watch our side of the story for once in your life and then judge
I can't help noticing that CNN always portrays any non democratic regine as a notorious killing one. Why don't we look at the facts from both sides, In Syria at the moment we have the government forces batlling "armed opposition groups" not innocent people without weapons as CNN is always trying to portray to the audience. These armed oppositions groups are, as they were in Libya. extremists who want to take control from the existing government, so they take up arms and combat the regime. One must understand that under any kind of government if you take up arms and fire on the authorities, you stand a good chance of being killed. This is always true whether we have a democratic government or not. If I were to start firing away at the police or army in any American state I am sure I would get killled right here in America under the Obama government no matter how "democratic" it is. Why is CNN always siding with the opposition.
Some of these armed opposition are criminals, escapees, drug dealers , al queda, ect. When protests against a government break out, its not up to the UN or USA or NATO to resolve the internal conflict by always siding with the protesters or government opposition as it did in Libya, Its up to the troubled country to resolve it with as less bloodshed as possible. Russia and China seem to understand this, why can't the so called "western democratic" countries understand it as well. Its pretty obvious that Bassar Al Assad does not need an army if all he was facing was peaceful protesters as CNN keeps repeating in its newscast. he could have done that with a few policemen. If a population decides that it wants a revolution against a government it must accept the fact they risk getting killed. In Syria the reason why some civilians have gotten killed is because the so called opposition that have taking up arms are fighting the Regime in locations that have innocent civilians women and children around. But both sides are responsible not just the Regime side as CNN keeps drumming day in day out for the past year. The regime would not use tanks and other artileries if all the were facing were peaceful protesters. I hope the western nations take lessons from the Libya experience where they got into a mess for 8 months, and here we are six months after gaddafi is gone the country is still in chaos with over 250 militia gangs ruling Libya with no real control over anything. I enjoy watching CNN , and I undestand its an American TV channel, but when it keeps showing only one side of the equation then I would rather get the news from somewhere else.
Finally some logic, thanks. People just don't want to see that
the oppositions groups most of them outsider from saudi, Iraq, afghan and Libya what they are doing in Syria ? ???? why they are Heavily armed from the day one ? don't you think there are outside hands funding these thugs. killing and bombing school and homes and then accusing the military trying to get the world to send the troop to secure the boarders to make Israel safe
It's amazing that our media is calling the military" snipers " shooting indiscriminately into the crowds. This would totally counter productive. Now the Activists " terrorists" I call them have everything to gain by these tactics.
the oppositions groups most of them outsider from saudi, Iraq, afghan and Libya what they are doing in Syria ? why they are Heavily armed from the day one ? don't you think there are outside hands funding these thugs. killing and bombing school and homes and then accusing the military trying to get the world to send the troop to secure the boarders to make Israel safe
@ As Far As Siam, 3:12 PM:
Thank you for writing well.
Of course I have an agenda: everybody does.
Allah Akbar!
Long live Saddam Hussein!
Relax people, all is well in Syria. Afew people commiting unrest. Bashar will put them down. The media distorts what is going on there. Less than 100 people have been killed since the "tiny" unrest. It is peacful in Homs and the rest of Syria.
You could have passed that by the world on some level UNTIL CNN got a journalist in there. Now you are hearing it first hand on the streets and seeing it ourselves. We know what is really going on there. And if Russia and China want to stand on the side of the Butcher, then the US, EU, Arab League, and others will come to the defense of the Syrian people. This revolution will not be crushed by Assad. EVER. It's gone too far. There is no going back now. Prayers the brave Syrian civilians.
Muslims have submited to Allah ( CHILD MOESTER )
THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY FREEDOM IN MUSLIMS COUNTRIES
is not my propaganda i found it on youtube there is a 1000 of videos showing Iraqis resistant the occupation all i did is post it
I merely said you are spreading some of your own.
screw you and screw saddam hussain
This is such a horrible situation. One wants to save the people. But as a US citizen I have to wonder at the intelligence of putting our people in harms way (again, for people who hate us) because, once again, the Muslims can't get along with each other. And it looks like this is not going to be easy, another Iraq on our hands, only worse with more casualties. The Democrats are supposed to get us out of war, not into another one. We might as well have the Republicans in charge if we are going to keep going to war. The money this is going to cost will be effecting the next generation, we will not get out of the deficit because of it. Our children will keep paying for this. Do we really want to put this on them? Once again, these people do not like us, we are the enemy to them. They side with Iran. Not people who will even give us credit for anything in the end. They will point fingers of blame instead. Accuse us of collateral damage, which is virtually impossible to avoid in war. Do we want this blood on our hands? I say NO! Let the Muslims save them.
This will not be another Iraq. The US will not be fighting another large land war for decades. Book it. Warfare is no longer about massive invasions and logistics. It's about a calculated, surgical strike where you can ultimately deal a similar blow with much less resources based on excellent intelligence.
This is much more Libya than Iraq. But bigger than Libya of course.
that kid did not have half his face and you people talk like this shame on you. shame you dont have a real perspective of whats right and whats wrong.
anti Christ is not a person its a Government US government is the real anti Christ try to pretend to spread democracy but in reality they are spreading hate and violence all over the middle east!!!!!! new middle east !!!!! neW WORLD ORDER KISS MY ASS TRYING TO CREATE CIVIL WAR
nothing funny about a child thats been severely tortured for mans stupidity he diedd later by the way bleed to death... shame of the heartlessnes of people.
Yup. Artillery against lightly armed civilians is gonna be messy....