Pre-Pesach Photographs and Prayer

Passover Prayer On Behalf of Abused and Neglected Children
(2007) Author Unknown

The prayer below was written for protective parents and their loved ones, child abuse advocates, and all who care about children to recite at their passover seder. A spring onion is added to the seder plate, or placed on the table as a symbol.

The Passover Seder is a time to celebrate our freedom and remember those who still struggle for the freedoms they deserve. Freedom from tyranny, violence, and oppression is a core value for us as our ancestors have known slavery, and our heart goes out to the enslaved and the imprisoned of any race, culture or creed. Tonight we remember a group of individuals often forgotten, trapped by a kind of slavery so cruel, that society often looks the other way---children (including adult survivors of child abuse) enslaved in lives of abuse.

Today I remember ____________ (fill in name of a child or children you know trapped in lives of abuse. or substitute... "these children.") Though many of us have tried to free them, the Pharaohs in our generation have blocked our efforts or looked the other way. Our hearts ache knowing the pain these children live with day after day. They are not forgotten. With this prayer we share our commitment to find a way to liberate them from their lives of exploitation and tyranny.

This spring onion on the Seder plate is our symbol for these children and their plight. The shape of the onion reminds us of the whips used on slaves to keep them subjugated. The tears we shed from the onion remind us of the silent tears of these children waiting for rescue. The newness of the onion reminds us of the promise of hope, that one day these children can grow healthy and free from the tyranny they are living with today.

We pray for the wisdom to find an effective path to liberate these children. We pray for the courage to stand up to the Pharaoh's of our generation and speak the truth of what we know. We pray for the strength and fortitude to keep on fighting for their freedom.

May these children (including adult survivors) soon know the sweetness of freedom from violence and oppression and share Passover Seders and other celebrations of freedom, safely, with loved ones next year!

Amen.

The Birds - March, 2007

Driving to the store

My ride to the grocery store should only take a few minutes. For some reason it seems to take me much longer. I keep making the wrong turns and end up out in the middle of no where taking pictures.

Running On Errands - Early March, 2007

(Early March, 2007) It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. I had to run on tons of errands. When ever I got stopped in traffic I decided to take a picture. I also stopped if I saw something and there was no cars behind me.

© (2007) Photographs by Vicki Polin

Iced Bush

I was driving around doing errands when I noticed there were icicles on a bush. I think this is the first time since I moved to Baltimore that I saw icicles.

© (2007) photographs by Vicki Polin

Last Days of February - 2007

On Frozen Pond

The following photographs were taken during the last week of February, 2007.

© (2007) Vicki Polin