Tanah Abang is one of the capital's meanest districts

Text and photos by P.J. Leo

JAKARTA (JP): Ugly tales about Tanah Abang market have been splashed across newspapers in recent months.

A wholesale center for textiles and garments, Tanah Abang is often associated with violence, general chaos and prostitution, a dubious distinction it owns among the city's often rough collection of markets.

Unrest erupted several times at the market in the past year. Angry traders razed the Tanah Abang District Office at the start of the year; there were chronic disputes between rival gangs vying to control the territory, often spilling over to involve local residents; and drivers of mikrolet transportation vehicles went on strike because they were tired of paying protection money to pass through the area.

Violence, violence and more violence. Courtesy seems to be nonexistent. Traders, bus drivers and prostitutes eke out their living in a jungle where the unspoken credo is survival of the fittest.

Chaos reflects a virtual absence of rules. Even traders rebel against the authorities which have struggled to impose some semblance of order. Traders spill over into the streets, filling almost every available space to sell their wares.

Prostitution is a round-the-clock activity in the market. Women hustle for customers night and day.

Some work in the mornings from small food and drink stalls lining Jl. Jatibaru. Come night, they go home, and another batch of these "working women" moves in to take their place.

Others solicit along the banks of Banjir Kanal, or the railway tracks in the notorious Bongkaran area. They cater to the lowest end of the market; instead of hotels, they invite their johns to pushcarts.

Tanah Abang assumed its present function as a central market in the 1920s, selling household products, textile and vegetables. The present Tanah Abang market building was inaugurated in 1975.

But its history is checkered with violence. In 1740, in the early years of Dutch colonialism, the market was attacked and razed, and the Chinese traders slain.

The Jakarta city administration has struggled to impose some order in Tanah Abang, with varying degrees of temporary success. But none of their programs has endured, and the same old problems quickly return.

Their latest measure was to evict sidewalk vendors who had filled the streets of Jl. Kebonjati and Jl. H. Fachrudin, causing massive traffic congestion throughout the Tanah Abang area.

Traders were relocated to the southern side of Jl. Kebonjati, permitted to operate there until Jan. 31 following the Idul Fitri Islamic holidays. They will then be expected to move to the plot near Kebonjati market. Seasoned traders said they had seen it all before, but nothing changes for the better.