Nearly 300 teenage girls were abducted from their school in Nigeria more than three weeks ago. Their supposed crime: advancing themselves through education, dreaming of becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, women who would better society and the world. Some reports say they are being sold as brides to militants. This prayer is an adaptation of “Against Human Trafficking” including some language from “For the Missing.” For those who know any of the victims by name, the prayer includes two optional lines [in brackets] to add a name to the prayer.

ADDENDUM, Oct. 18, 2016: 21 girls abducted from Chibok have been reunited with their families after an apparent prisoner swap.

Bring Back Our Girls: A Prayer
G-d of the prisoner,
G-d of the slave and the captive,
The voice of anguish echoes across the land.
Our daughters,
Kidnapped from their school,
Hijacked from their lives,
Torn from their dreams,
Are held captive by violence and hatred.

Source of comfort,
Rock of love and truth,
You call upon us to stand
In the name of justice and freedom:
To free the captive,
To stand up to terror,
To fight misogyny,
To cry out against human bondage,
To muster our power and energy
Against this force of evil.

Bless those who have dedicated themselves to saving our girls.
Bless their work.
Let success be close at hand.

[Return ___________________________ (name)
To the cradle of her/our family’s arms,
And the refuge of her/our home,
Speedily, in life and in health.]

This dismay and dread are almost too much to bear.
Grant their families endurance, hope and faith
That they will soon be reunited in the fullness of joy.

Bless our girls, in their captivity,
With hope and courage.
They are daughters of truth,
And children of wisdom.
They are our future.
Grant them the strength and fortitude
To face, G-d forbid, any shames or tyrannies forced upon them.
Hasten their release.
Grant them lives of education and prosperity,
Health and happiness,
Joy and peace.
Let rescue be near.

Blessed are You, G-d of All Being,
Who summons us to liberate the oppressed.

© 2014 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Please also see: “For the Women of Congo and Sudan.” “Against Human Trafficking” and other prayers for social justice prayers appear in Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings. “For the Missing” will appear in my forthcoming book, Prayers from the Heart of Darkness.

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet.

Photo Source: Bring Back Our Girls Facebook Page

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity that still flourishes. This prayer uses the broadest definition of human trafficking: illegal trade of humans for sexual exploitation, forced labor or modern-day slavery. The sex trade is the key driver of trafficking. This prayer is appropriate for the Passover Seder and appears in my book, Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings. To listen, click on the triangle in the bar below. The text follows.

Addendum, October 14, 2015: The FBI announced that 149 underage trafficking victims were recovered and 153 pimps were arrested in a nationwide human trafficking operation conducted throughout the United States last week. Here’s a link to the FBI press release. Here are eight facts about the sex trade.

Against Human Trafficking
G-d of the prisoner,
G-d of the slave and the captive,
The voice of suffering echoes across the land.
Lonely weeping in a night that never ends.
Our brothers
Are sold like coal
To be burned and discarded,
Traded like empty boxcars,
To haul unbearable loads of
Cruelty and degradation.
Our sisters
Are kidnapped and conned,
Used like empty vessels,
Their bodies abused and violated,
Their hearts and souls assaulted.

Source of comfort,
Rock of love and truth,
You call upon us to stand
In the name of justice and freedom:
To witness against human life
Treated as chattel,
To fight those who
Trade human beings as property,
To muster our power and energy
Against this force of evil.

Bless those who dedicate their lives to human rescue.
Grant them the fortitude to battle in the name
Of the unknown, the unseen,
Those who have been forgotten.
May the work of their hands never falter
Nor despair deter them from their holy calling.

Bless those in human bondage with hope and courage.
Grant them the strength and fortitude
To face the shames and tyrannies forced upon them.
Hasten their release.
Grant them lives of health and prosperity,
Joy and peace.

Blessed are You, G-d of All Being,
Who summons us to liberate the oppressed.

© 2011 Alden Solovy and tobendlight.com. All rights reserved.

Postscript: Other prayers in this series include “Against Poverty” and “Against Tyranny.” In January, 2011, this prayer was used by the ATZUM Task Force on Human Trafficking http://www.tfht.org/. TFHT was headed to Israel to lobby for criminalizing the act of buying sex. The demand for paid sex fuels the crime of human trafficking. As part of the mission send off, Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor of Congregation Da’at Elohim in New York City read it at Friday night services. Peggy Sakow and other members of the Temple Emanu-El Beth Sholom, Montreal, Committee Against Human Trafficking and Interfaith Coalition were profoundly generous in their guidance and support of crafting this prayer. Three other social justice prayers appear in Haggadah Companion: Meditations and Readings, including “Against Poverty.”

For usage guidelines and reprint permissions, see “Share the Prayer!” For notices of new prayers, please subscribe. You can also connect on Facebook and Twitter. If you like this prayer, please post a link to Facebook, your blog or mention it in a tweet. Please consider making a contribution to support this site and my writing.

Photo Source: Children and the Law Blog of the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center