"Dear parents, we would like to alert you about a phenomenon observed on playgrounds in recent weeks. Most students are adapting ‘classic’ games like "1,2,3 sunshine" using the words  ‘move and I will kill you. The words are violent and directly inspired by a series called "Squid Game", currently broadcasted on the Netflix platform. To prevent these children's games from becoming more violent than they already are, it is important to remember that there is an age limit for such series and that the said show is not recommended for children under 16. It would be great if you can discuss this with your children. Thanks for your understanding, the itching team.” 

This is the content of a supposed convening letter sent to parents. The document, being shared recently on WhatsApp, claims that it was issued by a school in Cameroon. Squid Game is a globally successful Korean series broadcast on Netflix. In the series, participants with large debts, or poor fellows, are recruited to take part in classic children's games such as "1,2,3, Sunshine." The winner gets the money. The whole thing takes place in childish settings, with children's games. Except that participants are killed when they lose the game. 

The letter circulating on social media in Cameroon reflects the concerns of Cameroonian teaching staff seeing students re-enact violent scenes from this series in playgrounds.

However, it has not been proven that this document was issued in Cameroon. There is no stamp to indicate the origin of the letter. Hence the authenticity of such a document is doubtful. 

A reverse image search on Google brought up trestles showing the letter illustrating Facebook posts that invite parents to monitor their children’s activities online and the TV programs they watch. 

By typing the keywords "violent games+school+squid game" in French in the Google search bar, we came across articles published mainly by French media.

Most of the articles were illustrated using images from the series. But there is one news site from Reunion Island which illustrated its article with the supposed letter.  

In Cameroon, the Ministries in charge of the various forms of education made no mention of Squid Game-inspired games being played by schoolchildren in schools. None of the reputable Cameroonian media has mentioned this subject either. The frenzy around Squid Game has pushed developers to create video games inspired by the series, even though there is no official video game. In Cameroon, some people have fun playing these games in their way, as we can see in this video.

P.N.N