By Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Writer 
THE ONLY one that really gets him is the King of the Abyss. The scary skeleton figure with long nails, trapped in a hole, is creepy, says 10-year-old Omokhare Iruoje.
Otherwise, Yu Gi Oh cards are "cool," says the Grade 4 student explaining his fascination with the cards that are mainly popular with pre-teen boys. Despite winged monsters and beastly looking characters spitting fire, armed with swords, razor sharp claws and eyes that look demon-possessed, Omokhare says he and his friends are happy to spend hours doing battle with the characters to gain life points and win duels.
"You get to order them around," he reasons. "So you have control."
Sure, it gets a bit spooky with characters being banished to the Shadow Realm (the underworld, where the gods punish those who do bad things), "but mostly the characters fight for the good unless they are on the other side."
Yu Gi Oh trading cards are also prized possessions for 9-year-old Ashani Thomas who lives to trade a trap card for a Shield and Sword magic card or whichever other combination he figures will strengthen his hand. The set of 103 Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards can be singly bartered for other cards or swapped for toys and games, while the other 52 Yu-Gi-Oh cards are used in a similar way as a pack of playing cards.
Omokhare, Ashani and others in that age group may get turned on by the thrill of attacking, defending and trading cards, but games like Yu Gi Oh and Pokemon that deal with magic and the occult have some parents worried. Camille Swapp says she wasn't sure about allowing her 10-year-old daughter to have Yu Gi Oh cards, but pushed aside her religious concerns and played a "goodie-two-shoe" mother and bought the cards after much pestering from her daughter.
She regretted it one night a few weeks later, however, when her daughter woke up from a nightmare screaming, "The monsters are attacking me! Yu Gi Oh cards are attacking me!" Swapp explains that the girl, who was nine at the time, had been restless before going to sleep and had climbed into her parents' bed.
THE DEVIL AT WORK
A student at the United Theological College in Kingston, Swapp says she immediately got rid of the cards. "You know, I should have followed my guts," she comments. "No toy that children play with should be attacking them in their dreams. A toy is to deal with one's creative side." Her daughter has since begged to have another set of Yu Gi Oh cards but this time the mother says she will be a "wet blanket" and stick to her beliefs.
The pictures and words written on the cards are also worrisome to Swapp. Some of the characters include Warrior, a hunter armed with a sword and powerful arms that can crush boulders; Winged Beast, a monster that swoops down and attacks with knives stored in its wings, and Fish, which has all the colours of the rainbow and has never been caught by a mortal man.
"I didn't like what I saw on the cards. I'm a firm believer in Jesus Christ, so I knew that this couldn't be a good game."
Rev. Dr. Donald Stewart, whose doctoral thesis is entitled 'Towards the development of a response to the demonised churches and the wider society," says he doesn't like what he sees either. These games, he adds, are based on demon-like characters or occult philosophy coming out of movies or cartoons. "What you find is that a lot of these things are an introduction to new age philosophy that has to do with the power within you that's not connected to any God. It says that you are in control of your universe and that you just have to activate the power." Children, he adds, are vulnerable because they like to experiment and explore. They want to try new things and power is something that will attract them.
Rev. Stewart, pastor of Portmore Covenant Community Church, says his research shows that the people who develop these games are into some branch of the occult world and that by nature of association they themselves can be opened up to demonic spirits that will therefore work along with them as they develop the games. When the children play the games and watch the cartoons or movies transference can and do take place, he reckons.
In more simple terms, he likens the effect to have a virus like pink eye. "If I'm walking around with pink eye and you come too close, it's possible for the virus to be transmitted to you without your seeing it or coming into direct contact."
"There are many ways that people become demonised and one of the ways is through these games," notes Rev. Stewart, a well-known deliverance minister, who says he is called almost daily to pray for children who have become demonised. One of his most recent experience involved praying for two Kingston area grade 10 students who had been adversely affected by the television show Charmed and were contemplating suicide. This particular programme is nicely put together but is built around psychic powers and children are fascinated by it," says the reverend.
"It's not only card games, it's a whole realm of things computer games, comics, cartoons, books, magazines, movies, says Rev. Stewart. "This is a carefully orchestrated thing by people with a vested interest in controlling the lives of young people. (They do it first) for wealth you get addicted so you keep on buying and doing so they can make money. The bottom line for some people is money and if you have to
murder people, so be it, as long as
you make money."
Secondly, it's spiritual, he explains. There are new age groupings, witches and coven withcraft (organised in groups, many of which are connected to the Church of Satan and that have covens of six or 12 people with the aim of spreading witchcraft, especially among younger people). They link together to captivate more and more young people into the fold, and games are key."
Children who are drawn into this then get into a world of their own and don't respond readily to the morals and norms of society anymore. "With time we find vicious killings among children and teens. Some of the games are vicious and when teamed with video games they engender violence and aggression after spending hours and hours it becomes the norm for them. Imaginary characters become the real world so the children are not
easily reached by parents and the school
anymore."
Ainsley Deer, an occupational psychologist and management consultant, agrees. "What these games do is desensitise children to reality. If all they are seeing is violence then that becomes acceptable. What is traditionally seen as evil can now be construed to be good," says Deer.
He adds that with children spending more time playing these forms of games they can become wrapped up in a virtual reality that has long-term psychological effects sometimes acting out what they see or play in the games."
Mr. Deer also makes the point that when children are too involved in individualistic activities they not only lose out on social skills that are enhanced through teamwork, they also unknowingly become isolated from society. "By watching television or playing an individual game they get accustomed to enjoying themselves alone. So children don't talk to their parents much and there is a loss of communication with those in their
environment."
THE DEVIL NOT AROUND EVERY CORNER
One mother, who doesn't want her name used
("I don't want the religious zealots coming at me"), isn't buying some of this, however.
"I think it's important that you monitor what your children are watching and the games they are playing because I do agree that violent games can push your children to become more aggressive.
"But I also think it's crucial to keep in touch with them and make sure they're grounded and have a firm grip on what's real and what's not. If you do that (plus, ensure that they are involved in a range of other activities) then I really think that games like Yu Gi Oh are just that games. I don't see any demonic plot to take over the minds of children. That in itself sounds like a fantastic
theory that would make a great basis for one these psychic TV shows or movies. I'm sorry, I just don't see the devil hiding behind every corner."
Other parents say they are unaware or haven't thought about the effects of these games on their
children. Michelle Henry, mother of a nine-year-old boy, says she hasn't paid much attention to the cards. She notes that her son who at one time was fascinated by Yu Gi Oh doesn't seem to be adversely affected and that in the last few months he has moved on and is more interested in the television show Charmed. He now tends to play out the characters on Charmed with his friends. Henry says that in listening to them it doesn't appear that they're taking it to any deep or demonic level.
She adds that she's more concerned about violence and has therefore opted not to buy her son any computer games because so many of them involved characters kicking off the heads
of others.
Dawn Johnson, a vendor at St. Aloysius Primary School on Duke Street in Kingston, who sells Yu Gi Oh and other card games, says "I've never
really taken notice of the cards." A mother of two girls, she notes that her oldest daughter, a primary school student, is more familiar with Yu Gi Oh cards than she is, but doesn't play with them because she thinks they are for boys.
Johnson could not state how much she makes from the sale of the cards but says it is a profitable business. "When dem just come down dem did dear, but now I can get $600 for a dozen. For the playing Yu-Gi-Oh cards it's about $300 a dozen or a single card can be bought for $10 or $20."
Johnson, who like many other vendors, usually buys the cards from wholesalers in Kingston, says that although the requests for the cards have decreased there is still a large number of children who buy them, adding that often she sells up to a dozen packs of cards by mid-afternoon.
BE INFORMED
Rev. Stewart, holding firm to his belief that there is evil at work, says the aim is to pull people away from God's words, from moral living. "In John 10 verse 10, Jesus says 'the thief comes but to steal, to kill and to destroy.' As you read and see how the devil operates in the scriptures you will see that if he can galvanise people to operate in his will, he will," he said.
Parents need to be informed, he says. "Do some homework, like you would on whooping cough or any other diseases that come along. Take some time to read. The spiritual dangers are just as great for kids."
An Internet search on Satanism vs. Christ, or the occult vs. children will turn up a staggering amount of information. Also check out bookshops like Source of Life in Half-Way Tree, Kingston.
Ainsley Deer advises that prevention is better than cure. He stressed that parents should take responsibility of their children and not to blame the television or the games they play. "Monitor your children and watch what they play with."
- With additional
reporting by
Grace Cameron
