ANTAKYA, Turkey – It’s mid-afternoon, and in the basement of a non-descript residential building in a small town on the Turkish side of the border with Syria, volunteers are busy packing parcels of medicines and first-aid backpacks. The shipments today – as they have been every day – are destined for field hospitals on the battlefields inside Syria.

In this small makeshift warehouse, dimly lit air-conditioned rooms keep medicines cool. IV drips, resuscitator kits, bandages, gauzes, suture kits, pain medications and sterile operating kits are stacked on shelves from floor to ceiling. Every bag is stuffed. Not an inch is spared.

Workers here know every item taken inside Syria can save a life, or at least, help ease the pain of someone suffering.

The warehouse in Turkey is just one point in a vast global network aimed at helping the people of Syria caught in the crossfires of the ongoing conflict there. It is made up of doctors and nurses from America, working for an organization registered in France, buying medicine in Turkey, with funds from Arab countries and elsewhere in the world.

On the ground, the network is run by doctors, nurses and activists who help acquire the medicines locally and ferry them across the rugged border to the Syrian frontlines where people need them the most. Wealthy individuals, families and communities from around the region and the world have combined forces to help pay for the supplies.

While politicians and diplomats wrestle, argue, fight and disagree about what to do to end the violence in Syria, this is what ordinary men and women from around the world are doing to try and save lives.

---

Taking a toll on Turkey
If the frontlines of the war are deep in Syrian soil, the rear lines extend deep into neighboring Turkey. 

For a country that has in recent times enjoyed an economic boom, coupled with new diplomatic clout in the region, Syria’s conflict is taking a toll on Turkey and some of Syria’s problems are spilling over into border towns and cities here.

Makeshift care centers dot the Turkish-Syrian border. In town after town, private houses or in some case whole buildings are being converted to patient centers where the wounded and injured from Syria are brought for care, help and sometimes shelter.

The Turkish government says they have taken in over 46,000 Syrian refugees since the start of the conflict. Many of them are housed in refugee camps along the border.

But many of the wounded and injured are brought to Turkish hospitals where they are treated and discharged. Once discharged, few have the proper resources to secure shelters or even the proper post-operative care. As a result, many are in desperate need of follow-up care.

Care houses run by Syrian doctors have sprung up to take in patients in desperate need of help. Many were amputees who lost limbs in battle, or were injured by the fighting – only to lose their limbs while being transported. They say their limbs could have been saved had proper medical care been readily available inside Syria. Instead, due to the long journey from Syrian cities – even though they are just dozens of miles across the Turkish border – many began to suffer infections that were incurable once they arrived on Turkish soil.

Over time, the houses have quickly filled up and the centers have become increasingly vital in providing critical care for some of the patients. Today, along this one stretch of the Turkey-Syria border, there are about half a dozen care centers housing between a dozen to 100 patients in each one, volunteer doctors say.

The average cost to run one of these centers is approximately $60,000 per month. Doctors are renting private residences in some cases and equipping them with basic supplies and equipment. They are not meant to operate as hospitals, but they are clearly serving life-saving functions at times.

'They need everything'
Many of those at the center we visited refused to give their names or even agree to be filmed for our video story. Patients regularly complained that although the care centers were providing important medical assistance, they were too ill-equipped, under-funded and poorly staffed to care for a steady stream of patients.

One patient from Aleppo with severe shrapnel wounds to his leg, agreed to speak with us but refused to give his name. He complained the facility was inadequately staffed.

"The Syrian National Council and the opposition groups are collecting millions of dollars from around the world for the revolution and they are just taking the money. Come look at the people here and see how we are being treated and you will see there is no money coming here,” he said.

Volunteers vehemently deny such charges. Instead, they say all of their funds are from private donations from individuals.  

Mark Cameron, a Canadian volunteer medical worker who was visiting one of the centers for the first time with the aim of returning to the West to solicit more funds, was shocked at what he saw.

"They need everything. The situation is desperate. I've been in some troubled spots all over the world, most recently, Cambodia, and as serious as it is there, this need here is immediate. It's today, it's this second,” said Cameron. “They don’t have antibiotics. They did some surgeries here yesterday that blew my mind without pain control because they just don't have it. It simply doesn't exist and the surgeries have to occur."

Cameron stressed that the doctors’ mission is apolitical. 

“This has nothing to do with religion, nothing to do with politics. This is a medical problem at the moment. We're medical professionals and were here to treat the medical problem.”

The volunteer doctors are mostly Syrians who are either living abroad or who escaped the fighting in their country. They are not allowed to practice medicine in Turkey because the care centers fall outside of the official Turkish health care system. But the facilities can help patients with post-operative care or serve as nursing homes for those with no places to go.

Supplies sneak across the border
Back at the warehouse, the medical supplies have been loaded on to a van. The van makes its way to the border under the watchful eye of the Turkish military, which sees the drop off in plain sight.

The military has turned a blind eye to much of the smuggling of medicines taking place along its border. It’s a sensitive issue for the Turkish government, which doesn’t want the border area to become lawless but is increasingly becoming porous for supplies, fighters and even weapons.

In broad daylight, we accompanied the volunteers as they coordinated with their counterparts on the Syrian side of the meeting point.  Along a stretch of the border that is marked by layers of barbed wire, a few cars have already pulled up. Our van approaches, and within minutes the bags and boxes are dropped off, pushed across an opening in the razor wire and loaded in the back of smaller beaten down cars heading to different cities across the battlefield.

The entire drop-off lasted less than 10 minutes. Then it was back to the warehouse for the volunteers in Turkey and off to the frontlines for the activists in Syria. Both sides are in a race against time and acutely aware that with each successful mission like this one, there is another chance to save a life in a conflict that has already taken so many.

 

ANTAKYA, Turkey – The conflict in Syria continues to escalate as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels fiercely battle over the country's biggest city of Aleppo.

NBC News’ Ayman Mohyeldin has been in and out of Syria several times throughout the ongoing conflict. He is currently in Antakya, Turkey, near the Syrian border.

He answered reader questions about the conflict earlier Tuesday. Replay the informative chat below. 

---

 

Syria's embattled Assad appears on TV for first time in two weeks

Syria has been locked in a violent conflict between President Bashar Assad’s regime and civilian forces for over 14 months. The Assad regime’s crackdown on the popular uprising has left thousands dead and prompted international condemnation.  More than 200 U.N. observers are currently in Syria to monitor a cease-fire agreement which has been repeatedly violated by both sides since it took effect in April.

---

Report: Syria rebels get better weapons as US quietly boosts support

NBC News’ Ayman Mohyeldin is in Syria to report on the latest developments in the ongoing conflict. Ask him your questions during a LIVE Chat beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. 

This chat will be moderated. As many questions as possible will be answered. 

TRIPOLI, Lebanon – They are just 55 miles away, but for Syrian refugees now in Tripoli, Lebanon, couldn't be more different.

We spent a cold and rainy day in Lebanon's north, crisscrossing from hospitals, to apartments to slums, meeting with Syrians fleeing their country and seeking refuge in Lebanon.

A 27-year-old patient, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he was shot in the leg by a sniper’s bullet. The wound was so severe, he couldn't get the proper treatment inside Baba Amr. Afraid to go to any hospitals inside Syria for fear of being turned over to government forces, he and his brother decided to make the trek to Lebanon. For four days they moved by car from house to house under cover of darkness and the constant barrage of war all around them.

When they crossed the border they were taken by activists to a hospital in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city, but it was too late. The leg was severely infected and doctors had to amputate it at the knee.

For a country that over the years has seen its own share of violence, forcing many of its own citizens to take refuge in Syria, it's new for Lebanese to see Syrian refugees in their country. So much so that international aid workers and activists say Lebanon has been slow to acknowledge and deal with the flow of Syrians across the border into their country.

---

Part of problem, Syrian activists say, is the attempt by the Lebanese government to remain on the sidelines of the conflict – without conceding that its side effects are beginning to seep in.   

More than 7,000 Syrians refugees have fled into Lebanon and registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  The majority of them have crossed into the north of Lebanon, activists tell us.

Dangerous trek
Over the past few days, dozens of injured residents of the besieged cities of Baba Amr and Homs have made the dangerous trek across the border. None of those we interviewed agreed to show their faces on camera. All were reluctant to give us their real names fearing their family members still living inside Syria would be hunted down.

Another refugee who called himself Abu Fares saw the war in Syria spreading five months ago and decided to flee the country with his family. Back then, Syrian officials didn't object to single families exiting all together. Now, activists say, Syrian border guards will turn back families that appear to be "fleeing" the country. More families have taken the route of entering the country illegally, making it difficult to keep an accurate number of who has entered Lebanon.

So far, no large refugee camps have been set up inside Lebanon for displaced Syrians –  unlike in neighboring Jordan, which has also taken in thousands of refugees.

Instead, what has emerged is an acute housing crisis for the families currently in Lebanon. The majority of families have taken refuge in apartments in rundown buildings, often at exuberant prices.

Abu Fares and his family of nine are living in a small shack in an illegal seaside slum in Tripoli. Without any heat or regular electricity, they have struggled to survive, relying instead on handouts for clothes, blankets and medicine. His heart and back conditions have made it impossible for him to work in the low-paying, labor intensive jobs most Syrians can vie for.
                                                                                                                            
Puddles of water filled the narrow walkways in between the shacks, and makeshift wiring and electric cables crisscrossed the alleys to the small, cramped and humid huts. Despite the hardship, Abu Fares said he has no regrets that he fled Syria and said he has no plans to return until the Assad regime steps down from power.

Not really a welcome mat
For Syrian activists, Lebanon has proven to be a dangerous country to operate. Lebanon’s weak central government has failed to fully embrace other Arab countries and international calls for Assad to step down. Lebanon for now has opted to remain impartial in the conflict, tacitly allowing refugees to come into the country, but not allowing the opposition to openly equip the Free Syrian Army.

Instead, Syrian opposition activists say they are routinely harassed by Lebanese security forces and military intelligence.

More importantly, Syria's strongest Lebanese ally, Hezbollah, has acted as a counter-balance to any major and visible opposition taking root publicly in Lebanon. Hezbollah commands a strong street presence in Lebanon and can easily mobilize large crowds in support of the embattled Syrian president. 

Instead, Syrian opposition activists feel more comfortable that their leadership remains in Turkey and abroad. They say Lebanon's past relations with Syria make it easy for Syrian intelligence and pro-Assad operatives to target them. Still, activists are discreetly using Lebanon as a base from which to supply and arm their comrades inside the country.

Even if the government in Lebanon has been reluctant to take sides in the conflict, it may not be long before the conflict forces Lebanon into a more direct course of action. 

Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict, including long stints at the Washington Post and the New York Times, died on Thursday, apparently of an asthma attack, while on an assignment in Syria.

Ayman Mohyeldin, an NBC News correspondent currently based in Cairo, Egypt, offers this appreciation of Shadid, a mentor, colleague and friend.  Prior to joining NBC News Mohyeldin was a Middle East a correspondent for Al Jazeera and CNN, covering events including the Iraq War, the Arab Spring in Egypt, and Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

CAIRO – To many, Anthony Shadid was a notable byline, a name that you knew would capture a story like no one else. His accolades and body of work speak volumes about his skills as a journalist.

But for me, it was as much about Anthony the person, who inspired by his example and came with a  professional and personal kindness possessed by no one else.

---

Over the past decade of wars, sieges and revolutions in the Middle East, our paths crossed numerous times. It started in the spring of 2003 when I arrived in Baghdad as a journalist with very little international experience, let alone time in a war zone. I knew very few journalists there, but there was one I was determined to meet: Anthony Shadid.
 
The first time I spotted him, I quickly walked over to introduce myself. “Mr. Shadid, my name is Ayman.…”  “Call me Anthony,” he said, smiling. It was a simple exchange but very telling of the type of person Anthony was. 

In 2005, a few years after Baghdad, I was covering my first tumultuous Cairo protest when I bumped into Anthony again. It was my first time among thousands of  Egyptian demonstrators and I was flat-out nervous.

Anthony sensed it, called out my name and told me to stay close. He graciously and protectively let me shadow him as he navigated his way between protesters, police and thugs, never losing  focus on his reporting task.

In doing so, he took the time and care to show me that even in the most acute moments of tensions and work, there is always time for humanity. It was a profound moment of selfless collegiality in an industry often characterized by hyper-competitiveness.

Over the years, as Anthony’s successes grew and his work received more and more of the accolades it deserved, he never became inaccessible to those he mentored along the way, always offering us advice and wisdom. He raised the bar for journalists the world over, and particularly for Arab-American journalists.

We looked up to Anthony as the highest example of what hard work and humility achieve. He became an inspiration and role model for cadres of aspiring Arab-American journalists wanting to make a difference in their country and communities. He made it possible for us to tell our parents that we, too, wanted to be journalists, just like Anthony.  And he made it possible for us to believe that one day we, too, could work for the New York Times, the Washington Post and other major American media outlets.

A few days before his death, Anthony was featured in an article about Arab-American journalists. That evening, after reading the article, my dad called me in Egypt to talk about it. “I hope one day to see you like Anthony,” he said at the end of the conversation.

On his last trip to Egypt, just a few weeks ago, I missed the chance to see Anthony one last time. It is something I will always regret.

That’s what he meant to so many of us.

NYTimes Correspondent Anthony Shadid dies in Syria
NBC's Richard Engel: NYT reporter Anthony Shadid was 'absolutely brillant' 
Shadid's death highlights dangers of asthma

CAIRO -- With fighting now encroaching the suburbs of the Syrian capital, the conflict is entering into a new dimension for the first time in nearly 10 months.

The Syrian military has regained control of the Damascus suburbs after rebel fighters over the weekend made strong advances around the capital, threatening the grip of President Bashar al Assad. The Syrian News Agency say security forces attacked "terrorist hideouts" in the Damascus countryside -- a loosely veiled acknowledgment that the fighting is now on the doorsteps of the capital.

But the attention on the capital and its outlying areas is a sign that rebel fighters who are part of the loosely knit Free Syrian Army have grown more brazen in their attacks as they go on the offensive against government troops. The fighting near the capital comes as a spike in violence has left several hundreds of people dead over the past five days. Both the government and opposition activists continue to blame each other for the violence that only seems to be escalating.

---

Syrian opposition fighters say the spike in violence is a sign that Assad's regime is desperate and launching whatever counter offensive it can to crush a stubborn uprising against his rule. Syrian analysts say with the international community convening at the U.N. to discuss the Syria crisis, the regime sees a window of opportunity in which it can resort to violence before pressure and possibly action is ratcheted up against Damascus rendering it impossible to continue on the same path.

An Arab League monitoring mission tasked with making sure Syria complies with an Arab peace plan to end the violence has been suspended. Syrian opposition says this has given Assad the greenlight to crack down in the blackout of media and monitors.

Read more: Gunfire 'everywhere': Street battles rage in Damascus suburbs

Some Syrians say the Free Syrian Army has grown in strength as more supporters and defectors join its ranks buoyed by its will to fight on despite being overpowered and outnumbered. As their numbers grow, the Syrian military is increasingly fatigued and weary, according to opposition members. Time is the regime's enemy, they say.

But Syria's fault lines are now spilling over into the international arena. U.N. Security Council members are convening in New York on Tuesday to discuss endorsing an Arab League plan that calls on Assad to hand over power immediately. The biggest objection so far has come from Russia which sees such attempts as interference in Syrian domestic affairs.

Russia instead has gone on its own diplomatic offensive, offering to host negotiations between the Assad government and all of the opposition forces. But a member of the Syrian opposition tells me Russia's efforts are only so that it does not appear as an obstacle to the will of the international community without offering an alternative. The Syrian opposition will not enter into any dialogue with Assad's government without preconditions. At the top of its list of demands? The President must agree to step down from power immediately.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• Gazans break (dance)ing boundaries
• Tourists banned from U.S. over Twitter jokes?
• Americans take refuge at Cairo embassy
• Street battles rage in Damascus suburbs
• Costa Concordia removal could take up to a year

 

They are scenes reminiscent of Egypt's 18-day revolution that toppled the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak.

Men and women, young and old, Muslim and Christian, rich and poor, secular and conservative … all back in the symbolic heart of Egypt’s revolution, Tahrir Square. They are also in cities all across the country.

But the unity seen during Egypt's revolution in 2011 has been replaced by widening differences over where the country stands one year later.

The difference revolves around the transition to democracy. Is it on the right path? Led by the right people? Genuine or simply cosmetic? Actions versus promises. Accomplishments versus rhetoric.

---

Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the uprising that ousted Mubarak.

Some gathered in the square to celebrate that revolution. They said the past year had been one of transformation. They cited a newly elected lower house of parliament, new individual freedoms and an explosion of political parties running the gamut.

Those gathered Wednesday celebrated the accomplishments of the revolution. Those accomplishments cannot simply be dismissed. The pace of reform may be slow, but change has been tangible.

Those here commemorating the revolution argued change has been cosmetic. One regime has simply been replaced by another.

"We have changed the driver in the car, but you have not changed the car or its direction," one protester told me. "Only when the direction of the car changes will the revolution be considered successful," he added.

Related: Obama wants to boost Egypt aid quickly

Those commemorating the revolution said the anniversary should serve as a reminder of what Egyptians can accomplish when they are united. The past year has not lived up to its potential. They cited thousands of civilians in military trials as evidence that the ruling military council -- all appointed by Mubarak coincidentally -- has resorted to the same draconian measures as its predecessor. They said that in the past year, not a single senior officer of the internal security forces or minister has been convicted in the killings of around 800 protesters. So for them, Wednesday was about renewing demonstrations against the ruling military council.

The military council said it's holding the ship steady on the course to democracy. And while it has changed the timetable to elections a few times, it has done so only when events on the ground rapidly deteriorated and protests flared up. On one hand that showed it had been responsive to public sentiments and street protests; but on the other hand, it continued to act unilaterally when it came to fundamental issues concerning the process of reform. It retained exclusive power over the security services and the judiciary. It has refused to delegate powers and authority to the military-appointed prime minister or the newly elected lower house of parliament. At the same time, the military has issued a declaration of constitutional principles that many interpret as an attempt to retain powers after a new government is directly elected.

Related: Huge crowd in Cairo

And of course… there are the new democratic realities that have emerged in post-revolution Egypt. New political parties, but not necessarily new political voices. The loudest so far has been that of the Muslim Brotherhood and the ultra-conservative Salafist movement. Between the two of them, they overwhelmingly won the majority of seats in parliament. Will their mandate from the people be seen as a direct order to challenge the military? Some argue the Islamists are content with the democratic process undertaken by the military because it has paved their way to power. They fear the two have cut backroom deals. The military will move the democratic process at a pace and under conditions favorable to Islamist parties at the expense of the lesser and weaker secular and liberal forces. In exchange, the Islamists will not mobilize their massive street support against the military or hold them accountable for past misdoings going forward.

So whether Egyptians celebrate, commemorate or reinvigorate their January 25 Revolution, one thing is for certain, it has been a remarkable year in the history of this country.

More from msnbc.com and NBC News:

• 3 years after US accident, boat washes up in Spain
• American hostage in Somalia rescued by Navy SEALs
• Witchcraft in London? Tragically, it happens
• Report: Amanda Knox 'loves Italy' and might return