On the Awakened Souls Podcast, we celebrate Raymond Bechard, an award-winning author, speaker, and human rights advocate. Honored with the Spiritual Life Award for his global fight against human trafficking, Raymond spoke at the Vatican Conference 2019 and is endorsed by leaders like US Senator Richard Blumenthal. His work is cited by Harvard, the University of Toledo, and numerous NGOs. For over 20 years, he has battled modern slavery in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, producing the documentary "Honor Bound" to raise awareness. His books, "The Berlin Turnpike" and "Unspeakable", expose the dark underbelly of human trafficking while inspiring hope. A bold provocateur, Bechard is credited with writing multiple pieces of successful legislation focusing on human trafficking and has driven legislation that forced social media to enhance stronger child safety measures. He also shut down illicit media ads on a Tribune Media publication after it continued to run ads selling illegal "escort" services. He is well-known for generally making people in power uncomfortable whenever he focuses his resources, writing, and public speaking on them. Listen to his harrowing stories of saving victims, from children dying of HIV to teens rescued from brothels, as he challenges an indifferent system.
00:00 Introduction
00:32 Early Influences and Inspirations
04:30 Pivotal Moments Leading to Advocacy
09:26 Shocking Discoveries in Human Trafficking
16:53 Stories of Resilience and Redemption
20:03 Systemic Factors Fueling Human Trafficking
23:34 Challenges in Advocacy and Resistance
29:21 Moral Dilemmas in Advocacy
30:47 Reflections on the Journey
33:52 The Challenges of Recovery from Trafficking
36:39 The Cost of Truth in Advocacy
39:28 Personal Sacrifices in the Fight Against Trafficking
42:52 Coping with Darkness: Humor and Nature
46:42 Defining Success in the Fight for Justice
48:58 Envisioning a World Without Trafficking
53:26 Advice for Aspiring Activists
56:24 intro.mp3
Some gems from Raymond on the Podcast:
" Don't follow the crowd."
" It does not reduce us to lift other people up. It lifts us all up, it lifts the world up when we do that."
" In a nation or society where girls are educated, all boats are lifted with that rising tide of education. Statistics and studies have shown for years that if you educate girls, it makes a culture better. It makes societies better. It makes businesses better."
"What still shocks me is when you show people the crime, when you show people the human rights violation, so often, good people will do nothing and turn the other way because they are scared. That shocks me."
"People can believe some awful things above what is obviously true and dismiss the truth to propagate their own motivations, as we see in politics." "Because if we face the truth about what's happening to other people, we have to do something about it."
Learn more about Raymond on the links and handles below
Raymond Bechard imdb