A Swedish journalist decided to teach his two young sons – who were obsessed with war-based video games – what real war is all about. So he took them to visit Israel and Syria to show them the harsh realities that exist in war-torn regions, and make them realise what guns are really used for. The trip lasted 10 days, and when the boys got back, they were completely transformed.
![His sons with soldiers [Photo Credit: Carl-Magnus Helgegren]](https://www.thetrentonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/reality-of-war6-550x366-The-Trent.jpg)
The idea for the trip came at the dinner table one night last year, when Leo, 11, and Frank, 10 begged their father Carl-Magnus Helgegren to buy them the latest Call of Duty game. He was quite concerned with their obsession for the popular shooter – he wondered if his boys actually realized the real effect that war has on its victims.
So Helgegren devised a brilliant plan to impart a much needed lesson. He cut a deal with his sons – if they agreed to travel with him to an area plagued by war and spend time with war victims, he would buy them any video game of their choice on their return.
![His sos on an armoured tank [Photo Credit: Carl-Magnus Helgegren]](https://www.thetrentonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/reality-of-war-550x309-The-Trent.jpg)
“I wanted to show them the negative effects war has once the guns and the canons have silenced,” he explained. “The people affected are someone’s father and brother and sister and mother.” Helgregen said that he himself experienced war quite late in his life. “I thought I had a pretty good idea from television, but when I was 29 I realised I had absolutely no idea what war was. And my kids couldn’t explain it, either.”
Leo and Frank didn’t believe their father at first, but agreed to the deal when they realized he was serious. Their mother Elisa, however, was quite reluctant to agree to their deal. Elisa, who is currently separated from Helgegren, was naturally worried for the boys’ safety. “When I presented the idea at first, she hesitated and she said, ‘Is it safe?’” said Helgegren. “But she said she would come along to be there for the children so we both did it together. We did it for the sake of our children.”
![One of his sons react to the ruin of war [Photo Credit: Carl-Magnus Helgegren]](https://www.thetrentonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/reality-of-war3-550x309-The-Trent.jpg)
Helgegren, who had worked in the Middle East as a freelance journalist, was quick to point out that the trip was neither political, nor related to his line of work. He first considered taking his family to Iraq or Afghanistan, but concluded that they were too dangerous, so he settled on ‘the closest you can get to war on a tourist ticket’.
So the family of four embarked on a 10-day tour of Israel and the Golan Heights in the occupied parts of Syria, in April this year. Their first stop was at Jerusalem where they stayed with an Israeli family, so the boys could get a sense of the local culture. “I wanted them to meet all parts of society,” Helgegren explained.
