JustRalph
03-24-2007, 12:31 AM
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-holiday22mar22,1,2856283.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true
THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: A SCENE OF NORMALITY
Holiday brings life back to park
In Baghdad, picnic sites and a train for children help residents celebrate New Year's and put aside the war for a day.
By Alexandra Zavis and Said Rifai, Times Staff Writers
March 22, 2007
BAGHDAD — Families spread picnic blankets under the trees. An orange-and-white-striped train ferried wide-eyed children around a lake. Teenage boys tried to catch the eye of pretty girls. And roller-bladers weaved through the crowds.
For a few brief hours Wednesday, life returned to Zawra Park as families gathered to celebrate Nowruz, the New Year holiday, in the heart of war-torn Baghdad.
Outside the park's wrought iron gates, there were the usual threats of gunfire and mortar blasts, and in Baghdad alone police recovered 33 bodies, apparent victims of sectarian killings.
But inside the park, the scene was breathtaking for its normality.
~more at the link~
THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ: A SCENE OF NORMALITY
Holiday brings life back to park
In Baghdad, picnic sites and a train for children help residents celebrate New Year's and put aside the war for a day.
By Alexandra Zavis and Said Rifai, Times Staff Writers
March 22, 2007
BAGHDAD — Families spread picnic blankets under the trees. An orange-and-white-striped train ferried wide-eyed children around a lake. Teenage boys tried to catch the eye of pretty girls. And roller-bladers weaved through the crowds.
For a few brief hours Wednesday, life returned to Zawra Park as families gathered to celebrate Nowruz, the New Year holiday, in the heart of war-torn Baghdad.
Outside the park's wrought iron gates, there were the usual threats of gunfire and mortar blasts, and in Baghdad alone police recovered 33 bodies, apparent victims of sectarian killings.
But inside the park, the scene was breathtaking for its normality.
~more at the link~