By Sheila Provencher

“Open the door! Open the door!”

The soldier’s face was only about a foot away. “Give me the camera,” he demanded. “Now!”

My colleague Tom had been on our apartment rooftop moments before. He saw about 10 young soldiers playing with neighborhood kids. The soldiers swung the children into the air, earning giggles and shrieks of delight. Tom snapped a picture. “I wanted a photo so I could prove that soldiers do something more than just shoot people,” he later explained.

The effect was instantaneous: within five seconds, five soldiers were at the door shouting for the camera.

“Let us in!”