A Swedish father has incurred public rage after choosing an original way to explain to his video-gamer kids the realities of real-life war: by taking them to genuine war zones in occupied Syria and the West Bank. The move no longer appears to be some miscalculated foolhardy decision, once you get acquainted with Carl-Magnus Helgegren – a journalist, university teacher, triathlete, DJ, and systems analyst who speaks five languages. Helgegren, who shares custody of his children with their mother, wrote in a personal blog entry that a point comes when one simply isn’t able to control everything their kids see. Leo and Frank, both aged 10, developed an interest for violent video games with a war theme, like many others, before they had reached the mandatory age of 16. So, they brought the issue up with Helgegren, touting the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise, with its blood, guts, dramatic music, and ultra-realistic action. We were sitting at the dinner table last autumn, and my kids started telling me about this game they wanted to play, the latest Call of Duty game, and told me about the guns and missions, the father told Sweden’s edition of The Local. But how real could a video game get? Helgegren decided to make a bet with his two sons: they would visit a real war zone with him, feel the atmosphere, and engage with the people for whom survival or combat is an everyday reality – and upon return, would be able to play any video game they desired. Although his sons didn’t believe him at first, Helgegren wasn’t kidding. Having decided that Iraq and Afghanistan were too dangerous at that point, he went for “the closest you can get to war on a tourist ticket” – occupied Golan Heights and the West Bank. rt/news/179192-swedish-father-kids-war/
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 01:37:08 +0000
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