Businesses along Jl. Jaksa refuse black Africans

JAKARTA (JP): Tourism businesses along the famous Jl. Jaksa in Central Jakarta, which is home to inexpensive guest houses, are refusing to serve black Africans.

Interviewed separately on Friday, owners and employees of hostels, cafes and restaurants along the 500-meter-long narrow street, which is popular among foreign backpackers, said that receiving Africans as their guests would only create financial losses for them.

A senior employee of New Memories cafe, Zaenal Abidin, said "Almost all the big hostels and restaurants here refuse to serve Africans, some ever since they started their businesses, because many Africans have reputations for their bad deeds."

According to Zaenal, the Africans were notorious for dealing in drugs, counterfeit money and fake passports.

"We won't get a profit from serving them," he said.

Zaenal said cafe owners and employees had always been reluctant to serve Africans, but African-Americans were still served because they had better attitudes in the eyes of locals.

"African-Americans are polite, they are also willing to pay for what they have consumed, unlike Africans," he said.

He said that employees could differentiate between African- Americans and Africans from their behavior.

Police have conducted several raids on Africans who mostly stay around Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta, but they continuously run their illegal businesses.

Angie restaurant, also located on Jl. Jaksa, views Africans similarly.

The owner, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said: "Serving Africans will endanger our business. I was once visited by a group of Africans who were caught by the police for drug consumption."

According to the owner, a woman, all hotel and restaurant owners here are aware of the way the Africans allegedly cheat hotels and restaurants by creating disturbances.

"They exchange harsh words with each other as if they are quarreling among themselves to create a 'legitimate' way to flee the restaurant and free themselves from paying the bills.

"Therefore, it is better for me not to receive such guests," she said.

She said that if she could not reject such people, she usually created an uncomfortable environment for them.

"We purposely take a long time preparing their food, hoping that they will get bored and will not return to my restaurant," she said.

Africans are also reportedly refused accommodation at Jl. Jaksa's big guest houses.

Employees of Tator Hostel, Mani and Runi, said they had been instructed by their boss to reject any room reservations requested by Africans.

"We usually tell them that the rooms are fully booked, while in fact there are still many," Mani said.

Runi said all big hostels along the street had implemented the same policy.

And as a result Africans are accommodated at smaller and cheaper hostels -- usually located in narrow alleys. (ind)