Christina Goldbaum

Syria is very on edge right now. The roads leading into the coast have been closed down. There are new government checkpoints manning those roads. Very few people there have been leaving their homes for fear of what could happen if they do.

Syria is very on edge right now. The roads leading into the coast have been closed down. There are new government checkpoints manning those roads. Very few people there have been leaving their homes for fear of what could happen if they do.

Syria is very on edge right now. The roads leading into the coast have been closed down. There are new government checkpoints manning those roads. Very few people there have been leaving their homes for fear of what could happen if they do.

And others in more rural areas where most of this violence has been happening have also taken up arms to guard their homes and their communities for fear of what could happen.

And others in more rural areas where most of this violence has been happening have also taken up arms to guard their homes and their communities for fear of what could happen.

And others in more rural areas where most of this violence has been happening have also taken up arms to guard their homes and their communities for fear of what could happen.

Most people on the coast do not support the armed uprising by these Assad loyalists. But many people there are from the same sect as Assad. And so they're worried that they could be caught up in this violence, even targeted by government forces as they try to squash that armed rebellion.

Most people on the coast do not support the armed uprising by these Assad loyalists. But many people there are from the same sect as Assad. And so they're worried that they could be caught up in this violence, even targeted by government forces as they try to squash that armed rebellion.

Most people on the coast do not support the armed uprising by these Assad loyalists. But many people there are from the same sect as Assad. And so they're worried that they could be caught up in this violence, even targeted by government forces as they try to squash that armed rebellion.

And people are very worried that this could spiral into another civil war after this three-month period of relative calm. So right now has become this critical test for the country's new leaders about whether they are able to manage the situation, reestablish control, or if this becomes a broader conflict.

And people are very worried that this could spiral into another civil war after this three-month period of relative calm. So right now has become this critical test for the country's new leaders about whether they are able to manage the situation, reestablish control, or if this becomes a broader conflict.

And people are very worried that this could spiral into another civil war after this three-month period of relative calm. So right now has become this critical test for the country's new leaders about whether they are able to manage the situation, reestablish control, or if this becomes a broader conflict.

I'm in Damascus, capital of Syria right now. And I'm walking through a prison that's underneath one of the intelligence branches in the capital. There are these three solitary confinement rooms, and etched onto the walls are messages from prisoners who were held here. One of the messages says, I love you, Mom. There are others that are praying to God. And there's also an etching of a mosque.

I'm in Damascus, capital of Syria right now. And I'm walking through a prison that's underneath one of the intelligence branches in the capital. There are these three solitary confinement rooms, and etched onto the walls are messages from prisoners who were held here. One of the messages says, I love you, Mom. There are others that are praying to God. And there's also an etching of a mosque.

What's inside that folder? And earlier, as we were going through the building, we found a folder with pictures of what looked like prisoners who had been tortured and killed.

What's inside that folder? And earlier, as we were going through the building, we found a folder with pictures of what looked like prisoners who had been tortured and killed.

You know, when we first arrived in Syria, just a day after the rebels took the country, there was a lot of celebration, a lot of people out on the streets, finally feeling this taste of freedom and

You know, when we first arrived in Syria, just a day after the rebels took the country, there was a lot of celebration, a lot of people out on the streets, finally feeling this taste of freedom and

As the week has gone on and we've come to more and more of these prisons and torture facilities, it's just clear how, just how much of a reckoning the country is going to have to go through now to confront and reconcile with all of the horrors that happened over the past couple decades.

As the week has gone on and we've come to more and more of these prisons and torture facilities, it's just clear how, just how much of a reckoning the country is going to have to go through now to confront and reconcile with all of the horrors that happened over the past couple decades.