November 16, 2005
It really makes you feel that you
are where God wants you to be.
~Chuck Wentworth~
Two Baghdad women, and their children, enjoy a Ferris wheel ride. A small amusement park in Baghdad reopened June 3 after being closed for at least two months. The city of Baghdad in Iraq is gradually recovering from the war. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Conrad College
Amusement Park Reopens in Baghdad
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Conrad College
BAGHDAD, Iraq – The sound of children happily and noisily playing in a park, filled the air here Tuesday (June 3) as an amusement park reopened for the first time in at least two months. The “grand reopening,” as it was called was due largely to the efforts of soldiers and officers of the 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, out of Fort Bragg, N.C.
“We helped get everything working again,” said Maj. Todd Mercer, an information operations officer with the 2nd Brigade. “We helped in several areas, such as getting the electric generator repaired and getting other electrical circuits, motors and wiring working again.”
He said the park operators actually did most of the cleanup and repairs. “We also helped them get the water running – a few things like that-- and we provided the security for outside the gate -- outside the walls,” Mercer said. The operators provided their own security inside the walls, he added.
Hundreds of children, and in many cases their parents, too, flooded into the park like an incoming tide when the gates were opened. Free admission and free rides, plus a lot of security, provided by the 82nd Airborne soldiers, ensured a full park and a happy day for hundreds of children.
Inside the park were many of the same types of rides that Americans are used to seeing at carnivals or small county fairs, including a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, and a large sliding board. There were about a dozen different types of rides in the small amusement park. A vendor was even selling pink cotton candy and other snacks. The only thing that was missing was the music such as the type that Americans usually hear at their fairs.
Many 82nd Airborne soldiers, walking around with their rifles, provided security outside of the park. The Humvees parked there with machine guns on top made the show of force quite effective.
Many of the children seemed to also be very interested in meeting the American soldiers and in seeing their equipment up close.
“Hello, Mister!” many of the children would say in English, smiling and waving. The kids all seem to like the American soldiers very much, to the point of being fascinated by seeing the Americans.
But, within a few minutes, many of the children also asked for “chocolate,” meaning any kind of candy, or for any thing to eat or drink -- or even for money. Some, not all, pestered the soldiers relentlessly.
So, what started as a friendly wave from many children turned out to be very annoying and even dangerous, as the children got in the way of moving vehicles, or tried to reach into the soldiers’ Humvees to take something, such as MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) or bottled water.
Some children even tried to touch the soldiers’ equipment, anything from rifles to flak jackets. The soldiers had to tell the sweet-looking, little kids to “Back off!” or “Get back!”
But, meanwhile inside the park, the Ferris wheel, full of squealing children and, in many cases, their happy parents, spun around and around and the bumper cars bumped into each other, again and again, and life in Baghdad took a turn for the better.
song playing....Long and Winding Road