Mattson,+Alyanna+7

Witch-Hunt in Kenya Targets Elders

In Kenya many of the elderly villagers are being targeted by groups of youths, being set on fire, attacked by mobs, being banned from their societies, or even killed. This has been going on for a long time, and only a few months ago, five suspected witches were tortured by a group of youths and eventually set on fire. Witchcraft is a deeply rooted problem within that community and the elderly are often portrayed as the hosts of witchery.

Sources: Al Jazeera: [|http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/12/2009122683921769977.html] Newstime Africa: [[http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/9767|http://www.newstimeafrica.com/archives/9767

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Similarities: Both articles mentioned that a few months ago, five suspected witches were tortured by a group of youths, and eventually were killed by them. Both articles also mentioned that some people that are accused of being witches have to go very far away from their communities to look for jobs because people that they know won't hire them. These similarities are important because it shows how serious the problem is/has become.

Differences: The Al Jazeera article gave quotes about one man who thinks that the problem is not only witchcraft but that the accusers are envious because he is living a more wealthy life than they so they accuse him. The Newstime Africa article did not include that. Another difference between these articles is that the Newstime Africa article had a picture of "witches" being set on fire. The Al Jazeera article has no pictures but does have a video on one man's story related to witchcraft.

My Opinion: I think it's horrible that any elder could be killed, banned from their villages, attacked, and set on fire just because somebody accuses them of being a witch. It's possible that an accuser can just say that somebody is a witch because they are mad at them or jealous of them. So I think that problems related to witchcraft should be ended as soon as possible.