Today, Harold D’Souza is a globally recognized survivor advocate & co-founder of Eyes Open International - a non-profit organization dedicated to prevention, research and education.

In this episode, he recounts his harrowing journey from free man in India to slave laborer in the United States. When a human trafficker lured him with a fictitious business development management position, Harold thought his dreams were coming true. Instead, he moved with his wife and two young sons into an impossible to imagine nightmare. As soon as they landed in America, the trafficker exploited his immigrant status to entrap his entire family.

Learn how traffickers leverage the hopes of those who come to the United States for better lives. Hear how Harold’s brush with death led to their dramatic escape. Celebrate Harold’s triumphs which include: his book, Frog in a Well: Turning obstacles to opportunities; several awards including the UN’s prestigious Human Rights Hero Award; an appointment to the United States Advisory Council by Barack Obama and providing expert consultations to the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

But mostly, listen to his irrepressible enthusiasm and optimism as a man who survived hell and still believes that anything is possible if you don’t give up on yourself.

Find Eyes Open International at their website

Mentioned in this episode:

• Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline
• Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio
• Cincinnati Works
• National Human Trafficking Hotline - US

Trigger Warning: Due to these episodes containing stories that involve cults and other types of coercive control that may be disturbing to some, listener discretion is advised.

You can find Living Cult Free on social media, especially on Instagram, at livingcultfree Our website is livingcultfree.com where the mission is to support the creative expression of survivor stories and empower advocacy through education.

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Intro & outro by Jon Snow; Original Music by Esther Friedman

Editing and production by Vanessa Hennessey

Huge thanks to Living Cult Free’s intern, Nikki Kattamuri, and the Living Cult Free Board of Directors.

Music and sound found on Pixabay, by:

Alexaa221, AtlasAudio, Chrysalyn Chrysalyn, Dmitrii Kolesnikov, Furkan Lim, Hoene Mike, Omar Faruque, Rahul Vaghela, Ribhav Agrawal, SoundUniverseStudio.

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