August 18, 2016 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

I work at a shop in Schiphol airport. Five days a week I take the intercity train to and from my job. One of the things I enjoy about this is watching the people on the trains. There are many tourists and locals together. Today was no different.

I went to work this morning, had a beautiful day, and at 5:30 my shift was over so I picked up my purse and things and went to the train. The train leaves to Amsterdam Central once every 10 minutes.

On my way to the train, I stopped at the McDonalds and got a hamburger. I was downstairs at the train station by 6 pm where I sat and waited for the next train to arrive. It was very busy on the platform. There was a lot to see. 

Mostly it was tourists with suitcases. There were also some backpackers. And a woman with a little boy in a stroller. The mother was about 25 or so, and the toddler I suppose was about three years old. He was very cute in his little blue jeans. I noticed the mother's bag; it was very bright colors, an Oilily bag. It made me smile.  The child had a stuffed bunny in his hands. 

The stroller was small and gray; there was no umbrella. Mother had a few shopping bags hung on the handles of the stroller.

The train came on time, and all the people climbed into the car. It was very full, and there wasn’t much room for sitting down. So I found a place to stand where I could see the door. 

I noticed a woman sitting in a chair across from the door. She was kind of dirty, looking. Like a junkie. We have many junkies in Amsterdam.  She was moving a lot and looked very nervous. I thought she might be on drugs. 

She had blonde hair and was maybe 20 years old. She wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt with the word loser on it. Her shoes were untied, and she had a plastic bag with from the Lidl.

I heard a mobile ringing and looked to see the Mother with her toddler answering her phone. 

I  picked up my phone and was checking Facebook when I heard screaming. I looked up, and the junkie was screaming something angry, then she reached into the stroller and grabbed the child. She was very violent about it, pulling at the belt trying to get the child out of the stroller. 

That is when the real chaos happened. The mother began to scream “Let go of my baby!” and the baby was screaming and crying. I saw him drop his stuffy bunny. Two men who were also on the train, one was in a suit and tie, and the other was a backpacker, jumped up and grabbed the junkie.  

She started to fight with them; there was a lot of commotion on the train. I looked to see the mother and the child. Mother was now holding the baby in her arms, and they were both crying.  

The two men seemed to have subdued the girl who tried to take the child. She looked very confused and afraid. I think she didn’t know what she did. Maybe she was sick or on drugs. I don’t know. 

When the train stopped at Amsterdam Central, the police were already there waiting. I gave them my phone number and told them I saw what happened and then I went home. 

Sincerely,

Kelly van de Riet