Once bustling Kramat Tunggak now forsaken

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)