Once bustling Kramat Tunggak now forsaken

JAKARTA (JP): Not much is going on at Kramat Tunggak, formerly the city oldest's red-light district, in North Jakarta.

Quiet has descended on the 10.4-hectare complex, located close to the busy Tanjung Priok seaport. Garbage was strewn around the site on Monday, giving the impression that the complex, home to 221 brothels, was abandoned by its former residents of prostitutes and their pimps.

Since its closure earlier this month, the area has become a ghost town. The only people remaining are several brothel keepers guarding their property.

Heavy rain from the night before flooded the complex, with the water preventing people from easily passing from one establishment to the next.

Some brothels were flooded, forcing several brothel keepers to try to clear out the water. There was nobody to clean out several deserted buildings.

Many brothel owners have kept up the maintenance of their buildings, cleaning the floors and retaining the furniture, such as plastic chairs and wooden desks.

Several hansip (civilian guard) officials sat and chatted with each other in front of two security posts in the area. They occasionally inspected the brothels to ensure that prostitutes who formerly worked in the area were not trying to enter by back doors.

A note at Wisma Anggrek 66A brothel read: "The house is for sale."

A truck was parked outside a brothel, preparing to transport the property of Sukirta, a brothel operator who hails from the West Java town of Indramayu.

Sukirta's prostitutes cleared out their belongings and headed home on Dec. 8, the day the brothel was officially closed by Governor Sutiyoso.

Sukirta said he would only consider reopening the brothel if he was ensured protection.

"I'm not afraid of the government, but of the people who will take the law into their own hands if I still insist on running the brothel," he told The Jakarta Post.

With a force of plainclothes police officers and routine inspections, the government is determined to put the brothels out of business for good.

Yusuf, a brothel keeper, said two prostitutes who once lived in the complex were arrested in the morning.

"They were only visiting their brothel keeper, but the police officers arrested them," he said.

But not all of the prostitutes have fled the area.

Lonely

A woman in her 30s who did not want to be named said the remaining prostitutes were keeping a low profile.

"I spend much of my time at the brothel to avoid the inspections, but I'm relatively safe since the officials think that I'm a brothel keeper."

She said she returned to the area on Saturday after the brothel owner asked her to keep the business open.

She was noticeably frightened of being discovered by officials. She asked the Post journalist to sit outside the brothel before locking the brothel's iron gate, which separated the journalist and her during the conversation.

Witnesses acknowledged that some prostitutes still live in the area.

"Some still live here, but others now live at the nearby housing complex. I can bring you there if you wish," Yusuf, an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, said.

Other businesses have been affected by the closure of once bustling Kramat Tunggak.

Hakim, another ojek driver, said he suffered a significant drop in his income.

"I could earn up to Rp 40,000 per day in the past, but now I'm lucky if I can bring home Rp 20,000 per day," he said.

Although the prostitutes have mostly gone, the petty crime which has long plagued the area continues.

Jefri Merizal, a street vendor, said robbery attempts often occurred along Jl. Kramat Jaya, the road in front of the complex.

"Snatching and armed robberies often occur here until now," he said.

Waluyo, head of the prostitution rehabilitation section of the city social affairs agency, said the government would conduct occasional inspections of the area.

"We have inspected the area twice, on Dec. 11 and Dec. 17. We arrested 339 prostitutes, who we have sent to three rehabilitation centers in the city," he said.

Waluyo defended the government's decision to close down the complex.

"Only three of the 339 arrested prostitutes were from Kramat Tunggak brothel complex. It shows that the prostitutes did not flood the city's streets, as earlier feared by many people," he said.

From the comments of prostitutes, however, Waluyo's optimism may be misplaced.

Some prostitutes said they returned to their hometowns out of respect for city residents who are fasting. They said they would return after the post-fasting holiday of Idul Fitri, looking for customers at traditional haunts or on the city's streets. (asa)