Inside Syria: Dissidents tell stories of 'unbelievable abuse' against protesters

Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:49 AM EDT

By Richard Engel
NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent

The Turkish smugglers didn’t know quite what to make of us. Normally they traffic cigarettes across the Turkish-Syrian border. Cigarettes are cheaper in Syria than in Turkey. So are cows. The smugglers told us they had moved plenty of cows from Syria to Turkey across the cornfields and melon patches that cover both sides of the border. It’s easy to traffic a cow, one of the smugglers explained. Just dress like a farmer and, if stopped by a border guard, claim the cow went wandering and you chased after it.

"Sorry officer. Won’t happen again."

The smuggler said bringing our team into Syria – without visas, without permission – would be much more difficult.

And I had more bad news for him. We also wanted to film the crossing, and stay inside Syria for several days to conduct television interviews with members of the political opposition being hunted by the Syrian security forces.

The Syrian revolution has been one of the bloodiest of the Arab Spring. The government and security forces of President Bashar al-Assad have killed more than 3,000 people since protests erupted last March, according to the United Nations. The protesters have been demanding more political freedom. Thousands of demonstrators have been arrested or disappeared. But facts are difficult to verify because few journalists are allowed into Syria. Government officials closely monitor reporters it allows in. Our repeated requests for visas were denied. No reason was given.

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Rock Center with Brian Williams - Inside Syria: Dissidents tell stories of 'unbelievable abuse' against protesters