Deceived, Tortured and Traumatized by False Eyelashes
The young girl feels traumatized whenever she sees a grown woman with false eyelashes. When she meets a woman wearing false eyelashes, she chooses to avoid them. They remind her of bitter memories from her past.
By
Kompas Team
·6 minutes read
ARSIP KOMPAS
WI (15), a victim of child trafficking from Indramayu, West Java, when met at her home, Wednesday (1/2/2023). WI was once forced to work as a worker in a cafe in the gold mining area, 99 Ndeotadi, Bogobaida District, Paniai, Papua.
She also chooses not to look at her mother when she would put on false eyelashes. The reason is, when she sees a woman with false eyelashes, she remembers the pimp, who threw her into the world of prostitution one and a half years ago. "Even though it's far [from home], [if I meet people with fake eyelashes I] rush home," said WI (15), when Kompas met her at her house in Indramayu, West Java, in February.
The pimp brought WI to the remote Paniai regency, Central Papua province (formerly Papua), in mid-2021. She was forced to work as a lady companion (LC) or song guide at a karaoke or a cafe close to a gold mining area.
WI was required to accompany mining workers who wanted to drink alcoholic beverages. Sometimes these gold mine workers also had sexual transactions with some of the LCs.
If she was reluctant to serve guests or look for customers, WI was tortured. The pimp once dragged WI, who was holding a glass of water until it spilled, hit with a cell phone in the head and was burnt with cigarettes due to her unwillingness to look for guests. This has left an imprint on the child who had not yet graduated from junior high school.
Lied to friends
The bitter incident started with a fake job information submitted by WI's friend with the initials AH. In mid-2021, WI, who at the time was 14 years old, visited AH's house located in the same subdistrict where she lives. She was surprised because AH was packing her things and clothes.
Apparently AH was going to fulfill a job out of town. However, AH was hesitant to go because she had no friends to go with her.
AH asked WI to go with her. WI agreed even though she had no intentions of working herself. But she felt sorry for her friend who wanted to support her family.
ARSIP KOMPAS
NT (19), a victim of child trafficking when met at his home in Subang, West Java on Thursday (2/2/2023). NT was forced to work as a worker in a cafe in Gang Royal, Kampung Rawa Bebek, Penjaringan, North Jakarta.
According to WI, AH knew from the start that she would work as an LC in Papua. However, AH had lied to her and said that they would become coffee shop waiters in Surabaya, East Java.
Without telling her family, WI joined AH to Surabaya, taking a car that their boss had ordered. However, Surabaya was only a transit point. They met the pimp who invited them to board a plane to Makassar, South Sulawesi, then to Nabire, Central Papua.
WI only realized what she was getting into when she was brought to Nabire. The pimp and her husband took WI and other children to a cafe every night to learn how to drink alcohol.
After several days in Nabire, they departed for the gold mining area in Bogobaida 99 Ndeotadi district, Paniai, July 19, 2021. They were taken by helicopter from Nabire because the gold mining area is in the middle of a forest.
After arriving at the destination, the pimp led the girls to his cafe called HH, not far from where the helicopter landed. WI and her friends were told to imitate the way senior LCs seduced and lured guests who came to buy alcoholic beverages.
There was no salary other than a commission of Rp 100,000 per small bottle of alcoholic beverage purchased by guests. The pimp paid the commission after a week of work.
There was no salary other than a commission of Rp 100,000 per small bottle of alcoholic beverage purchased by guests.
The pimps' cruelty made WI secretly arrange a way to escape. It was impossible to escape on your own because the Bogobaida 99 Ndeotadi district is located in the interior forest of Paniai, which can only be accessed by helicopter and is prone to armed conflict. WI contacted her mother, who was in Indramayu, and told her to report it to the police.
WI was forced to accompany guests so she could get money to buy internet quota, then communicated with her mother via text on Whatsapp. She was forced to serve guests to have sex and waited to be paid Rp 3 million to have enough money before escaping.
NELI TRIANA
The suspects in the trafficking of children for prostitution at a cafe in Kampung Rawabebek, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, were presented at a press conference at the Metro Jaya Regional Police Headquarters, South Jakarta, Tuesday (21/1/2020).
WI's mother reported the information to the police, who then picked up WI and her friends on Aug 9, 2021. WI reunited with her mother and family a week later.
Such a sad experience not only traumatized WI, the young girl was also reluctant to continue her education to high school because she was ashamed of being teased.
In fact, she skipped one month of school when she was in junior high school due to bullying by her classmates. There were widespread rumors that WI had worked as an LC in Papua. "I felt ashamed, [I] didn't even leave the house," WI said.
Another promised job
The job vacancy trick as an entry point for prostitution also ensnared NT (19), who now lives in Compreng, Subang regency, West Java. She was a survivor of child exploitation at a cafe in Gang Royal, Rawa Bebek, Penjaringan, North Jakarta, in early 2020.
At that time she was not even 17 years old and lived with her grandmother in Indramayu. Dropping out of school during junior high school, NT had a job but then became unemployed again, and so she mostly stayed at home. She did not like being scolded, so she intended to find work again.
NT sought information through a Facebook group. “Then someone sends a chat to my account, ‘If you want, let's work in a cosmetics shop. The salary is Rp 3.5 million a month’. It’s quite tempting, isn’t it?” said NT, who is now a mother.
The next day, a car picked up NT to go to Jakarta. At one point, she was picked up by the woman who offered her a job at a cosmetics shop, along with 10 men.
As it turned out, the woman took NT to a cafe in Rawa Bebek. NT then got dressed in a salon opposite the cafe, still thinking that she would work in a cosmetics shop. After being told to wear revealing clothes and to accompany guests, NT realized that she was told to be an LC.
NT and the other women were held after working hours. They were guarded by three men with pistols. If she wanted to go home, the pimp said NT had to pay Rp. 5 million.
NT was told that after working for two weeks, she would serve guests who requested sexual services. Luckily, after only four days, the police raided the cafe and rescued NT and the other girls so they could reunite with their parents back home.
WI and NT remember the sad stories they both experienced that left them traumatized. Vile human trafficking can threaten the future of children like them. (JOG/FRD/DIV/ILO)
In collaboration with:
ARSIP
Bali Process
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.
