Bend It Like Beckham, In Baghdad
By David Mac Dougall
Close to the FOX News Baghdad bureau, there’s a soccer field. Six months ago it was just waste-ground: dust and trash blowing around, stray dogs eating scraps of food. It looked like any piece of land in any neighborhood in Baghdad.
One day, a chain-link fence went up, encircling the waste ground. Workers moved in. On one side of the waste ground, a children’s play park was installed. On the other side, the workers put up two sets of goalposts complete with nets.
Suddenly, every kid within a four-block radius flocked to the new park. The younger kids played on the swings, older children played soccer (or “football” as I prefer call it… after all, I am European!)
Today I went to the soccer field with my colleague Eric Stewart who took the photographs below. Some of the children we’ve met before - some are our neighbors, others we’ve talked to when covering particular stories. About 4pm each day the boys gather to play soccer: today, the teams were divided into “FC Barcelona” against “Real Madrid.” The kid standing in goal wasn’t particularly effective, and one side scored all the goals.
About 18 months ago I was embedded in a Baghdad neighborhood called Shula with 1-23 Stryker Battalion out of Fort Lewis Washington. Just about every boy we met there wore a soccer shirt - the favorites were Chelsea or Manchester United (both teams which play in the English premier league, for the uninitiated).
None of the kids we met today were big fans of David Beckham - their favorite player is Ronaldinho. After doing some filming and taking pictures, we had to return to our bureau - but we promised to buy a new soccer ball for the children. I’ll post some photographs when we buy the ball.
Watch Iraq's rebuilding efforts through the eyes of our Baghdad Bureau — reporters risking it all to bring you fair and balanced coverage from the Mideast.
Hey it sounds like the place is perfect so why aren’t we bringing the troops home.
This sounds like a phoney McCain photo shoot. McCain strolling through the peaceful markets getting fantastic deals on rugs not knowing the 200 troops behind him were being filmed.
I smell the same rat here. Im thankful that some form of normalcy is returning for these kids. God knows they deserve it but Id also like to know how many troops or security guards surround this so-called optimist phoney reporter.
Hi Ed - Thanks for leaving a comment about my blog.
Just to let you know, there were absolutely no US troops guarding me when I went to visit the soccer field today. I went there with one security guard from the FOX News bureau, who walked with me - it’s our standard procedure. I can assure you it was no “phoney McCain photo shoot” as you said in your comment.
In the short blog I make no value judgements about the state of Iraq. I simply noted a small change for the better in my own neighborhood, the place where I’ve lived for the past few years.
Hopefully you’ll take the time to read my previous blog entry, entitled “Violence, Ceasefire, Stalemate: Lather, Rinse, Repeat” about the situation in Basra. I think you’d be hard pressed to say that article was filled with “phoney optimism”.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog, and for making the effort to post a response. It’s much appreciated.
David Mac Dougall
Ed, you’re a typical left-wing conspiracy nutbag… Good things happen every day in the world, and some of them the United States of America actually had a hand in *Shock!*
I give people (like David Mac Dougall) the benefit of the doubt, their work products are considered genuine until someone PROVES otherwise. It is the definition of insanity to assume that every reporter who prints an optimistic or otherwise feel-good story about Iraq is a US government opererative.
David and his co-workers are in-country living with these people daily. Telling these stories, and engaging in these humanitarian efforts is incredibly noble. They are our representatives in these countries and they show people the sincerity of our efforts. You are most likely sitting on your a$$ and doing nothing but complaining about things you have no real understanding of. My father always said, If your going to complain about a problem, you better contribute to the solution.
It’s obvious you feel you are much more intelligent that the average reader, and are seeing things (hundreds of troops etc.) that the unwashed masses just simpley wouldn’t understand… I guess that’s just part of your sickness…
Ed, get some meds… (hey that rhymes!)
Nice work David, I’ll bookmark your blog (until someone proves you’re a CIA plant) LOL.
-Michael
Good story, David!
Never mind the ne’er-do-wells in America, they don’t account for much in the grand scheme of things. I think putting up a playground or field in Baghdad is every bit as important and putting one up over here for local kids. It’s a positive thing, good for the kids and for those who participated in the work, a win-win situation.
So who’s the guy with the sheep? (Llama?)
Jennifer in NC
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