Surabaya's prostitutes: Life on edge of society

Surabaya's prostitutes: Life on edge of society

Christina Schott, Contributor, Surabaya

Evi, not her real name, fell down the stairs. Or, maybe she was
hit by a motorbike while crossing the street.

Her claims, however, cannot hide the fact that the young woman
now lying in a clinic's examination bed was badly beaten by
somebody.

She has been losing blood for almost a week, probably because
the blows to her stomach caused a miscarriage. Maybe it is now
too late to save her life. When she was beaten one week before,
there was no doctor who would help her, for Evi is a sex worker.

"Either they don't dare to go to the doctor or the doctor
rejects them," said Esthi Susanti, 43, managing director of
Yayasan Hotline Surabaya, one of two NGOs' in the city that care
about the health and welfare of prostitutes.

Julius R. Siyaranamual, who founded the organization 13 years
ago, added: "Obviously the officials don't recognize it yet, how
important the health issue -- and especially the health of sex
workers -- will become for this city in the near future,"

Surabaya is supposed to have the biggest red light district in
Southeast Asia. Latest statistics from the World Health
Organization reveal clear signs that East Java could soon become
one of the next hot spots for AIDS in the Asia Pacific region.

The city government's first reactions in promoting the fight
against AIDS were, among other things, holding official talks
about new projects and the filling of Surabaya with posters and
banners.

But probably, it will take a long time before those concerned
in the depths of Dolly, Kaliana or any of the other red light
districts feel the benefits of the campaign or the new projects.
In the meantime, it is up to the activists like Esthi and Julius
to care about the health and health education of Surabaya's sex
workers.

"We would like nothing more than the support of doctors and
lawyers, but most of them don't have the spirit of activists.
They are only interested in money," Esthi says bitterly.

Although she has already experienced many disappointments,
Esthi still has not lost her own activist spirit.

Adhering to the "do it yourself" approach, Yayasan Hotline
Surabaya opened its first clinic perempuan (women's clinic) in
the heart of Kaliana on June 25. With the financial help of the
Ford Foundation, one doctor, two nurses and an analyst now work
at the clinic five days a week.

The clinic, which is next door to the local subdistrict
office, is open to every women in the area and, to avoid
unnecessary complications like in Evi's case, the clinic offers
everyone regular health checks and first aid in case of
emergency.

However, for serious cases, there is not enough equipment.
When Evi was taken by her friends to the newly opened clinic, the
nurses could do nothing except call a taxi (they cannot afford
their own ambulance), and accompany her to the nearest hospital.
They might have saved her life, though, by giving her oxygen
during the trip.

Another big focus for the foundation's prevention program is
counseling and health education -- a major percentage of
sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented through better
knowledge of the risks and how to avoid them.

"Before I came to Yayasan Hotline Surabaya, I didn't even know
how a woman got pregnant, not to mention about the way diseases
infect people, like in the case of AIDS," said Nelly, not her
real name, a 37-year-old sex worker in the Bangun Sari area.

Although she still works as a prostitute, Nelly is now
starting to investigate other ways of earning a living.

"I still haven't found another way to survive," she said, "but
since I became aware of the risks, I have a constant internal
struggle with myself about my work. And I've found that I want to
help other people who are in a worse situation than me."

So Nelly became a member of the Kelompok Kerja Berdaya, or the
empowered working group in English, which consists of the
foundation's managers. The core group of 25 people, all of them
sex workers, gather regularly to further the foundation's three
main programs: health, education and information, and well-being
and safety.

"The most important thing is to build up their self-
confidence," said Esthi, who works as a supervisor and counselor
for the group. "Only if they learn to believe in their own skills
can they make the first move to escape their plight."

One way of giving these women newfound self-confidence that
has proved very successful is the group's theater project. Their
pieces tell about their own life experiences. All the actresses
are sex workers who have never been trained to act in front of
the public. But acting on a stage seems to make it easier for
these women to express all their fears and frustrations as well
as their dreams and hopes. Last year's performances in Surabaya
and Jakarta received rave reviews, so the project will be
continued at the end of this year with planned performances in
Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and, of course, Surabaya.

One of the most passionate actors is Ria, not her real name.

"Joining the Yayasan Hotline Surabaya was one of the best
things I ever did," the 20-year-old woman said.

Ria was only 13 when her family forced her to marry a man who
could have been her grandfather. She couldn't stand the marriage,
which she called torture, and ran away from her hometown in East
Java to Batam, where she immediately fell into the hands of a
pimp. After working as a prostitute for two years, she was then
sold to a brothel in Singapore.

Seven years and a lot of bad experiences later, Ria has still
not lost her infectious laughter and her overwhelming juvenile
energy.

"She is one of the strongest you can find in this area,"
Julius said.

Ria's dreams for the future are simple: having a loving
husband and writing a novel about her young life.

"Give her a chance and she will find her way," Esthi said.
"She is living proof that the problem rests with our social
system, not with individuals."