Since gaining its independence from France in 1946, Syria has been a country that has always faced political instability. The Syrian government, known for its harsh dealings with domestic opposition, killed over an estimated 10,000 people in the uprisings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama, 1982. But since 2012, rebellions have grown enough to form a civil war, one that has taken a particularly nasty downturn in the past few months. With the deaths of more than 100,000 people and 6.2 million forced to flee their homes, the situation looks desolate.

“The government should get better and promote more peace and justice,” sophomore Aya Khaznadar, a native Syrian, said.

Although the government has changed since 1982, these harsh punishments still are heavily implemented, as shown on August 21, when a chemical attack killed 1,429 people. A report from the non-profit organization, Doctors Without Borders reported that the day of the attack, they had to treat 3,600 patients with “neurotoxic symptoms”. A preliminary U.S government report has determined that the Syrian government deployed the use of chemical weapons against its own people.

However the Syrian government denies the use of such weapons, and to prove this even went as far as signing the Chemical Arms Treaty.

“I don’t think the government would be doing [using chemical weapons], it was probably the rebels,” freshman Sandi Daamash, another native Syrian, said.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin has expressed doubt that this could be “clever provocation” by the rebels. He also said that Russia would not take any action against Syria until further, more concrete evidence was provided. China has the same standpoint on this topic.

“Russia should stay out of it unless they want to help, same to China because both are sending weapons to the government,” Khaznadar said.

The rebels are also being supported.

“All they’re doing [is] fighting for peace and justice,” Khaznadar said.

At the moment, only France and the Arab League openly support action against Syria. President Obama has been trying to convince Congress to give the word and utilize the five U.S destroyers equipped with tomahawk cruise missiles positioned in the Mediterranean, ready to strike.

With one in four Syrians gone from the country, Syria is now the second largest refugee-producing country in the world after Afghanistan. With the violence continuing and no real international action being currently taken, the situation remains bleak.