A Young Girl at an Armed Checkpoint

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At one of the checkpoints I went through today, I saw a girl in a school uniform, perhaps 10 years old, carrying a pink backpack. She was alone and looked uncertain as several foreign guards asked her in broken Arabic where she was going.

She was supposed to meet her dad at a building where he works but the armed guards seemed to make her nervous and she didn’t know how to answer them. Since she didn’t come in a car and was walking to her destination, the guards told her she could go. But she didn’t know how to get there and tears welled up in her eyes.

Feeling sorry for her, we offered to give her a ride and the tears disappeared. But she still didn’t smile. The solemn look remained on her face until we dropped her off.

I can’t imagine what it’s like to be that young and have to go through a checkpoint with armed guards. I know it’s a pretty minor event considering all the things that happen here, but I’m sure it adds up in the end. I wondered about the things she had seen and experienced and what kind of person she would be when she grew up"
WSJ.com: Baghdad Life

I'm concerned that this young girl would get into a car with strangers. If I was her brother and found out, I'd kick her ass for that.