Thin pickings for 'freelancers' as clientele dries up<\/p>\n
By Stephanie Bells<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It could be a night club anywhere in the world.
\nThe music is loud, ultra-cool and pulsates through the dark and
\nsmoky atmosphere. The patrons are young and attractive. Yet,
\nobserve for long enough, and you will discover that this bar is
\nnot just full of people out to have a few drinks and listen to
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
The conversation is not quite as casual as you may first
\nthink. The clientele is mostly pairs of Indonesian girls and
\ngroups of expat men. Expat women are conspicuous by their
\nabsence.<\/p>\n
It's early yet: midnight. Two girls sit side by side at the
\nend of the bar. In front of them are the drinks they ordered as
\nthe cost of their entry. The girls have barely touched them.<\/p>\n
Further along the bar, another girl sits by herself, slowly
\nsipping her drink to make it last. Upstairs, more girls are
\ntogether in pairs. Some play pool, other girls simply \"hang out\".<\/p>\n
The girls' clothing reveals more than a lot of golden skin. It
\nreveals their intentions: to go home with a man, and one who will
\npay them.<\/p>\n
This is one side of an industry that is as full of shadows;
\nthe dark side of the bright lights of Jakarta. Prostitution.<\/p>\n
Selling one's body is nothing new, and certainly not unique to
\nJakarta. Around the world, the main reason for doing it is money.<\/p>\n
The difference is the way it is done here, compared to Western
\ncultures. These girls refer to themselves as \"freelancers\" or
\n\"business girls\". If you push a little harder for them to name a
\nprofession, they will often tell you \"student\" or \"sales girl\".<\/p>\n
And if the words they use to describe their \"business\" are
\nmisleading, then the method of conducting their business is even
\nmore shadowy and elusive.<\/p>\n
The men who go to this club, and many others like it in
\nJakarta, are from countries who use a cut and dried system for
\npaying for sex.<\/p>\n
Where they come from, you approach a girl who is for sale in
\neither a brothel or on the street. A fee is paid for certain
\nservices or for time spent conducting those services. When it is
\nover, the client leaves. End of business transaction.<\/p>\n
Usually a very expensive transaction which few men can afford
\non a regular basis.<\/p>\n
Not so in Jakarta. When a man arrives here from another
\ncountry, he inevitably goes out to explore, to meet people and
\nrelax. He finds himself in a nightclub surrounded by beautiful
\ngirls.<\/p>\n
He begins to realize that he is attracting the attention of
\nthese girls and finds himself approached. He can't believe his
\nluck: this almost never happens at home! These girls are very
\nfriendly and easy to talk to. He offers to buy one a drink, and
\nthe rest is easy.<\/p>\n
They may spend an entire night together -- not 30 minutes as
\nhe would expect. The next morning, she either tells him how much
\nshe is charging, or makes it clear that she would like to meet
\nagain. Most often, he will pay her the price.<\/p>\n
He can't believe how much it didn't cost. That was easy; why
\nstop at one. He is lonely, often here by himself, away from his
\nfamily. He is here because he wants to make money. As one man
\nputs it, \"this place is like a candy shop.\"<\/p>\n
The reason for the difficulty in definitions is that most of
\nthe girls genuinely do not see themselves as prostitutes. It is a
\nword they find offensive.<\/p>\n
Poor<\/p>\n
They see themselves as simply trying to improve their standard
\nof living. Many of the girls have come from poor backgrounds
\noutside Jakarta. The lights of the city eventually prove
\nirresistible, and they come to find work.<\/p>\n
What they find are jobs which do not pay well, and that just
\nto survive, they find themselves working long hours of overtime.
\nSome are single mothers, others are women who are trying to
\nsupport extended families back at home.<\/p>\n
Looking good in the city is also important. It is not
\nacceptable to wear traditional Indonesian clothing when you have
\na smart city image to live up to. Smart city clothing is
\nexpensive. So are cosmetics, shoes, handbags and lingerie.<\/p>\n
As inevitably as the men who become their clients are drawn to
\nthe bars and clubs, so too are the girls, who have found
\nthemselves in debt and unable to pay their bills.<\/p>\n
They soon discover that the equivalent of an entire week's
\nwages can be made in one night.<\/p>\n
With this work also comes a potential bonus. Some girls find
\nthemselves favored by their wealthy clients. A relationship is
\nformed, and the girl finds that not only does she not need to
\nconduct her \"freelancing\" any longer, but finds herself escorted
\nto places she could never have afforded, taken on the occasional
\nholiday and life generally becomes easier.<\/p>\n
But local men are usually not wealthy enough, or would not
\nspend so much on such a girlfriend. \"They are not interested in
\nlocals,\" said a somewhat despondent Indonesian man.<\/p>\n
Some girls do eventually marry their partner. One such girl,
\nIsla, not her real name, was living in a boarding house with her
\nyoung son.<\/p>\n
She went to an upmarket hotel one night and met a wealthy
\nforeign man who was living here permanently. They eventually
\nmarried and she now describes her life as like \"living in a
\nfantasy\".<\/p>\n
Most girls, however, are not so lucky. They are aware that
\ntheir boyfriend has ties in another country when they form the
\nrelationship. But they either hope that he will not return home
\nor that he will divorce his wife. In reality, however, when his
\ncontract finishes, she is usually left behind.<\/p>\n
\"Rina\" was once engaged to a man who eventually left her. She
\nfeels she has no choice other than to work as a \"freelancer\" as
\nshe had not worked in the two years she had known her fiancee,
\nand has been unable to find work to pay for the lifestyle to
\nwhich she had grown accustomed.<\/p>\n
With tears in her eyes, she says that she is heartbroken, and
\nthat she still loves him. \"I can't believe he left me... \" Five
\nminutes later she was in the arms of another foreign man.<\/p>\n
The financial crisis has affected Indonesians from every
\nbackground and walk of life. Many of the expat men who had
\npreviously provided work here have not had their contracts
\nrenewed, or have been sent elsewhere to work.<\/p>\n
These men are now leaving Indonesia, or have already left to
\ngo back to girlfriends, wives and family.<\/p>\n
Girls who were in relationships with foreign men are finding
\nthemselves more and more having to go back to the bars. There is
\nincreasing competition for work, although paradoxically prices
\nhave risen.<\/p>\n
According to one man, he is now paying more than three times
\nthe price for a night than he was when he arrived here a year
\nago. A service used to cost Rp 100,000, which can now reach Rp
\n350,000. \"Some of the girls are now demanding U.S. dollars,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Neither of these things bothers him, as his wage has risen in
\nline with the exchange rate. He is also going home to his fiancee
\nsoon.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that life is getting tougher for Jakarta's
\nbar girls. Working in an industry that does not officially exist
\nprovides no guarantees and no protection.<\/p>\n
Girls who used to go to a \"better class\" of establishment,
\nsuch as five-star hotels, are finding this too expensive now.<\/p>\n
They are beginning to frequent the less desirable places. Even
\nhere, though, the cost of the drink they must buy to gain entry
\ninto these clubs has more than doubled recently.<\/p>\n
The girls now have to invest more, so receiving returns is
\neven more important. Opportunities to form \"permanent
\nrelationships\" are also thinning out.<\/p>\n
Another effect of the crisis is that the girls need to work
\nmore often, and be less choosy about who they go home with.<\/p>\n
According to \"Tati\": \"I used to have a choice of the men I
\nwent home with. Now they're all leaving. I feel like I have to go
\nwith whoever I can find.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thin-pickings-for-freelancers-as-clientele-dries-up-1447893297",
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