大象传媒

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rabbi Julia Neuberger.

Good morning.

A couple of weeks ago an article in The Times newspaper highlighted the high numbers of unaccompanied children referred to the National Referral Mechanism, the government system for identifying victims of human traffic. Two thousand, six hundred and thirty four who had arrived in the UK in the past four years were possibly victims of human trafficking and 2008 of those were confirmed cases. These are tragedies, each and every one of them. Children sold into modern slavery by parents or abandoned; maybe their parents had disappeared or were killed.

They washed up in France and took a perilous small boat journey, brought by people who intend them to be prostitutes, criminals, or, at the very least, modern day slaves in car washes or nail bars. This trade in people is taking place right under our noses. We have legislation on Human Trafficking and we can help through safeguarding. But there are delays and overburdened social workers; it is all too easy to slip through the net. We often celebrate the end of slavery in the former British colonies, but rarely give a thought to our modern slaves. Young, defenceless, frightened, often without anyone who cares for them. We are all appalled by the deaths of migrants trying to cross the Channel.

But how many of us give a thought to the ones who make it here but are all alone, abandoned, and trafficked. The Jewish tradition has a clear message: 鈥淵ou know the heart of the stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt,鈥� as we read in the Biblical book of Exodus, or 鈥淵ou鈥� must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt鈥� in Deuteronomy. It鈥檚 not an option. It鈥檚 a command. Befriend. The stories of modern slaves matter.Don鈥檛 ignore them. That鈥檚 the rule. Let鈥檚 heed that commandment and take action. May this be God鈥檚 will.

Amen.