I did a double take as I looked at this picture - Kids having fun swimming, and splashing in brown murky water... uh and a bombed out building for a backdrop?! "That's wrong" my brother commented as he picked up the picture, I nodded in complete agreement. This is what peace looks like in the Karrada district in Baghdad- using these horrible memory-ridden empty bomb holes for fun? What message is this giving to kids? Where is the hope when your playground is a graveyard for fallen victims and dangerous structures? 
Using images from outside, scenic backdrops and natural materials. I constructed a more idyllic swimming hole for these kids to play. The crumbling building gave way to a rocky mountain range, and concrete ground to a sandy beach. Now they can be kids, without the pressure to face adult responsibilities too soon, or the negative images and memories from the past seeping into their subconscious. Give them room to be free! fly a kite, to be entertained by native birds and animals, to use their imagination for life, not dwelling on death. The alternative energy windmills in the back are signs of progression and awareness of conservation for the natural world- things that these children will lack as they reach adulthood without the appreciation for nature. The one thing that does show hope is their energy and smiles, by fostering these
children's needs their future and the worlds future may start progressing towards peace.
Source: Newsweek, [This is 'Peace.' Kids Swim in Bomb Crater], 28 July 2008. Photo by Wathiq Khuzaie, Getty Images.
-Kyle
