'I don't know if they're alive or dead': Humanitarian crisis in Tigray felt in Ottawa
- Natalie van Rooy
- CTV News Ottawa Multi-Skilled Journalist
- Follow | Contact
Published
Residents in Ottawa are feeling the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
“They left us a message saying, ‘Please help us, we are starving,’” said Azeb Gebrehiwot, an Ottawa resident who has family in Tigray and part of the Association of Tigrayan Communities in Canada. “Imagine how painful it is to hear that and not being able to call them back.”
It was a voice message that Gebrehiwot waited for months to hear, confirmation that at least her nephew is alive in Tigray.
“I don’t know if they are alive or dead; if they’re starving to death,” she said. “I think about my nieces and my nephews.”