ICAP 2011: Welcome Europe

I do not have any video of the European Regional Team, my camera was acting up. However it was a service that sparked my interest. The conference had a strong European influence. Folks from Scotland, England and Wales, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Russia and Moldova were present. Many of the Europeans, like many of the North Americans worked in other regions.

I also had opportunities to listen to some of the members in other formats. Glen Miles is from Wales but lives and works in Cambodia. I heard his excellent talk on boys in the sex trade. Estelle is from London and I simply spent time with her whenever I could. Toos is from the Netherlands, I went to her talk. It was both disturbing and encouraging.

I learned a lot during the focus on Europe. I knew about the Red Light district in Amsterdam, everyone knows about it. I did not realize that most of the women involved in prostitution were from Eastern Europe. I certainly did not know about the role of “Lover Boys” or the branding of their property, the women.

I knew next to nothing about the Republic of Moldova but boy am I learning. Now I am reading about its struggles with the Tartars, the Turks/Ottomans and Russia. I am learning of the Soviet era, the religions and the culture. However, until ICAP I knew nothing. So it was encouraging to find out that this landlocked small nation in Eastern Europe was the home of a regional conference. I learned that the work with the women of Eastern Europe in Amsterdam is replicated in the East.

Each day I was at ICAP the world became smaller because I was making friends from around the world. However, each day I was at ICAP the world became bigger because there were new cultures and ministries being presented every day.


Human Trafficking & Prostitution in Moldova - Michael Palin's New Europe - BBC