'I believe in the power of teddy bears because I have seen hell'

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Editor's note: T.J. Turner of Yellow Springs composed this essay, which was broadcast over WYSO-FM, for National Public Radio's "This I Believe" series:

I believe in the power of teddy bears. I know it sounds funny, but I've seen it first-hand. This past year I deployed with the Air Force to Bagram Airfield, in Northern Afghanistan. The area around Bagram is filled with extremes. It is both ruggedly beautiful, and desperately poor. It is peaceful and serene, and then punctuated with the scars from decades of conflict. It is an area where millions of land mines peacefully co-exist with children playing in war-torn fields, most of the time. It is like nothing else I have ever seen or experienced.

North of Bagram is a valley, more beautiful than the words I could use to describe it. The name of the place is Panjshir, and it is a narrow corridor in the earth, carved by the river that flows into the Shomali plains. Like Bagram, it is also filled with extremes. The people living in the valley are blessed with the wealth of unbelievable scenic beauty, but that beauty is interrupted by the rusting hulks of Soviet and Taliban armor.

I believe in the power of teddy bears because I have seen hell. Hell exists on Earth, but is not a place. Hell is what happens when you lose all hope. It is despair, and I saw it on the faces of people as we drove by. They could tell the difference that separated them by nothing more than a car door. It was the difference between wealth and abject poverty, the difference in winning or losing the lottery at birth. The funny part was, I never saw it in the children. There's a magic about childhood that transcends hope. Kids play and live life without worrying about the responsibilities, and sometimes the despair of adulthood.

On our way out of the valley we passed an old man and what I can only guess to be his grandson. There was something in his expression that wasn't inviting, but as we slowed down to pass I held a bright blue teddy bear out the window. The little boy grabbed it before the offer went away, and hugged with both arms. His grandfather looked at me and said, "Tashakkur." Thank you.

My last image of them is of the child still hugging his bear. I don't know how you would describe the look on the old man's face. Maybe it was just a smile, but maybe it was hope that his grandson wouldn't live in the same world he did. I guess we all wish that, or hope for it.

I hear lots of talk in our nation about the Global War on Terror, and my opinions change and evolve with that debate. However, we seem to miss the root cause in that discussion. Hell is what causes terrorism; it's about pure desperation. I'm not saying that we'll win this conflict with teddy bears alone, but when I deploy next I'm packing a bag full of the little furry creatures just in case.

— T.J. Turner

Smart Air Force guy!!! Thank you, for keeping us safe, and helping the Iraqis!!!