I don’t even know this family, but I found these videos via YouTube when I came across the fighting sharks video (see “Sweet Sharks” post). This little girl’s family actually posted it. I went on to their YouTube page to see what else they had in their collection and found that their videos consist mainly of their daughter, Chloe. Watch these videos in order, from top to bottom. They are pretty darn adorable.
I woke up in a good mood this morning. Crammed in a few dreams during my last 2 hours of sleep, woke up puffy-eyed, drank some strong coffee and started to read the paper. I don’t follow the war in Iraq very closely, but I read an article about the fighting in Sadr City. Hundreds of civilians are being killed in the fighting between the U.S. soldiers and insurgent groups.
The fighting intensified this week as suspected militias took advantage of a dust storm that grounded U.S. military helicopters to launch sustained rocket attacks on the Green Zone. U.S. troops have responded with air strikes and Abrams tanks.
“Every day we hear that rockets are launched on residential areas in Baghdad, and every day people are getting killed,” said al-Maliki, who accused militia leaders of using the civilian population as a shield.
Tahseen al-Sheikhli, a spokesman for security operations in Baghdad, said at a news conference Wednesday that 925 people had been killed in the clashes. He did not provide a timeline or other details. -Ernesto Londono, Washington Post, Thursday, May 1, 2008
It’s hard to see the pictures of mourning parents and family members. In the above article there’s a picture of a mother holding her son who was killed in one of the air strikes. I work with children almost every day. Most people who know children know their innocence and beauty. Children, in times of war, must bring so much to their families — so much hope, joy and so much worry. Their children’s lives are the ones to protect. If a parent loses that fight, I can’t imagine how they would cope.
There’s really not a way to wrap up a post about this. Civilians were the reason I didn’t want this long war to begin and they are still the reason I want it to end.
