The recent gas attack in the City of Douma, Syria, has left Windsor's Syrian community feeling helpless.
Over 70 people are believed to have been killed Sunday from chemical fumes that spread through Douma, the last rebel-held town in Eastern Ghouta.
Mamdouh Mohieddin, a shop owner in Windsor, said his sister is on a bus, fleeing toward refugee camps in northern Syria.
"[She's with] seven family members and other cousins. I don't know how many of them."
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said around 500 people had been treated for "signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals."
In the past month, more than 133,000 people in eastern Ghouta are estimated to have fled a desperate humanitarian situation.
Moheiddin's sister was forced to flee to avoid the risk of being jailed and tortured.
"They have no power, no electricity, no Internet, no food, no drinking water. She loves her family [and] her country and her town. That's where she was raised. She couldn't believe that she had to leave," he explained.
He said the darkest moments are when his sister is unable to respond to messages from home.
"Sometimes they do send pictures, but mostly text because they don't have enough power to charge the cell phone. So they preserve the power not to send so much. And especially the Internet [is] not very available. So they have to be conservative about sending pictures," said Moheiddin.
"But sometimes it could be a week. And we don't know what's going on until finally she texts me something and I know she's alive."
Mohieddin hopes that the Canadian government is able to help in some way.
"I hope (they) are able to put their weight into the situation and support any motion to remove this regime," he said.
Fayez Ramadan, a friend of Mohieddin, wishes that the U.S. had never been involved in the Syrian crisis.
"People were able to stand up on their own two feet. But I think the United States' involvement in the region is the root problem. It started from Iran [and] Afghanistan. If they leave us alone, we can make it. We can just live in freedom, just like anybody else," he explained.