Saturday, May 5

When a brothel goes on fire...

Shivering in spite of the strong midday sun, the clients stand, rather wet, in their underpants. A uniformed policeman takes their details. their ID-cards are still inside. Most of them look very young, in their late teens and early twenties.
The smell of smoke, burnt plastic and soot hangs heavy in the air.
The area is ugly, small industry, second hand car lots, right behind the new regional police headquarters in Salame street.
It was called the "Aquarium Spa", but the business-cards laying around in the mud, around the place leave no doubt, this was no health spa or naive "massage" parlour, but a brothel. The women are no longer there. Perhaps they ran off through a back-door. I hope none are still inside, the firemen enter the place wearing oxigen tanks on their backs and the burn smell, also outside, is overpowering.
The heavily tattooed, Russian looking "manager" (pimp is perhaps a better word, or maybe he was a guard) is being questioned by a policeman. He shouts at me when he notices i shoot his picture. the heavy Russian accent leaves no doubt. He's angry, but realizes he cannot do much, with police and firemen present.

A little further away a white, new Volkswagen with the number 98 613 24. A woman with Slavic features stands next to it. She looks worried, scared, keeps her mouth covered with her hands. It seems she has tears in her eyes, but maybe i am imagining things. She quiet, doesn't say a word.
The clients are worried, their things are still in side. One of them tells his friend he's pissed off, as he paid money, but had not yet received "service". After a while they laugh and ask me to take their picture in front of the fire truck.
A fireman brings a pair of brand new sports shoes outside. A wet flowered underpants wearing teenager picks them up. They are still white and new looking, and wet. The young man is pleased. He looks like any other young guy. Shoulder length hair, a beaded necklace, a kid from "Sheinkin".

No one talks about the true victims, the women.


more images:
Fire




21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Watching your pictures I realise these citizens of your country to have minimal respect for the other (women) half of the population.
What a god-forsaken spot to earn a living under rotten circumstances.

Makes me sick!

Tsedek said...

O dear.... I can't help it but I can't stop laughing Hahahaha.... especially that picture where they are posing for all together in one row :D

LOL

Sorry, Yudith, this just touched my humor spot :D

Anonymous said...

Ha Ha מגיע להם למגעילים האלה
The firemen should have just rescued the women and left the sorry building, pimp and customers to go up in smoke.
But that's just my viewpoint -
Been to a prostitute? You've raped a woman.

Lirun said...
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Lirun said...
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Anonymous said...

In this country of mine 80 % of the prostitutes is forced into it ( there was a piece in my weekends paper about this suffering), because most are shlepped in from far away they have to repay the "fare" to the pimps.
We are talking about thousands of Euro per week, in case a woman does not meet the expectations she is guarded in the right direction with the help of a baseball bat.
Willing people ? by the nose of Cleopatra where did you get this bull.
Having sex with a complete stranger who might carry the most strange diseases and or did not wash for a few days is in my eyes a disgrace.

Anonymous said...

EE, would it be possible to give a translation for the writing following the Ha Ha.................?

Anonymous said...

Translation of the Hebrew in my post:
It serves them right.

Anonymous said...

Thanks EE, I agree.

Lirun said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I know.
And lets be honest, go look up this deep, deep dark corner inside of you where you have hidden your affirmation to my writing.

yudit said...

"upmarket industry", "adult entertainment", yeah well the word laundry is doing heavy overtime. Prostitution is the industrialised form of established sexual abuse of other people, women, children and yes, also men. Of turning the other into an object and a commodity.

Lirun, you sound like the "friendly and nice" slave owners in the American south just before the abolition.
Prostitution is slavery. No nice "industry and business" type terminology can wipe it out. Like the term "spa" or "mahon briut" or callgirl. Just other terms aimed at making the client feel good and the pimp like a true "businessman".

A HUGE research project carried out by, amongst others, Melissa Farley and in Israel by "Elem" points out the following: Almost all women and men in prostitution went through prolonged child abuse, often sexual (incest), but also physical and /or mental. The average entrance age is thirteen. "Becoming" a prostitute is a process, of internalising that horrid task. It takes time and so , when by 18 the original identity and personality have been thoroughly wiped out, you want to talk about "free choice"?
One of the sentences mentioned by almost all people in prostitution is "my body is there, me? I'm not inside" (גופי שם, אני לא בפנים)
The use of mind altering substances is done, as otherwise it's impossible to carry out that awful task.
No woman or man in prostitution want their child to go into it and basically all want to get out. But society, in Israel included, has nice ways of keeping women inside.
I know of no parent who thinks their child has made a really nice "career choice" upon learning their child is in prostitution.
The "young pretty student who has a few select customers to pay for her studies" is a myth, made for the client who wants to feel he's special.
Just as they like to feel "with me, she really enjoys it", another amazing myth.
We should not want to live in a society that condones slavery.

Nor should we want to live in a society that messes up our sexuality. When men start to believe the fantasies presented to them by the ever inventive operators of that abominable industry, they mess up the sex-lives of their partners as well as that of their own.


i suggest viewing "Or" (le Tresor), by fellow Jaffaite Keren Yedaya (she received the golden camera award at Cannes, 2 years ago, for this movie) and am even willing to loan you the DVD. It provides a pretty good picture of what that "upscale industry" (i literally feel sick using that sick term) of yours is like.
Of course you could also go for Lucas Moodison's "Lilya 4Ever", to understand the ugly dynamics of trafficking. You can get it at the "Ozen shlishit".

Anonymous said...

Yudit,

Could you please send me the reference to the material you translated showing that the legalisation experiment was a failure in Holland.
I am currently engaged in just such an argument with a lovely English guy, and need backing!!

TIA

Anonymous said...

Lirun dude, where in Tel Aviv do I find the volunteers- brothel.

Lirun said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

BRING BACK THE GOOD OLD DAYS
WHEN SEX WAS "DIRTY"
AND AIR WAS CLEAN!

yudit said...

Lirun has been deleting his comments.
I believe in free expressions and do not condone censorship.
Basically i have copies of Lirun's comments and will be replacing them wherever he deleted his comments.
Once words are out, they are out.

I will replace the comments copy paste without any alterations, in their original order

yudit said...

טוב אני עובר לעברית כי האורחים שלך ממש מגעילים..

כשעברתי ליפו היית מקסימה ואפילו הצעת לעזור לי.. לא הייתי זקוק לעזרה אבל אני די בטוח שבכל זאת אמרתי תודה.. מאז - את וחבריך תוקפים בציניות מופרזת להפליא כל הערה ואמירה שאני משאיר כתגובה לבתוג שלך וממש לא ברור לי למה ההתקפה היא כל כך אישית ולא ענינית..

חבל קצת - הנושאים שאת מעלה ראוים לדיון הולם אבל באוירה כזאת אני היום מבין שזאת לא המטרה..

אין לי כל חלק בתעשית השירותים האישיים - אבל - אכן זכיתי להכיר אנשים נפלאים שבחרו כן לקחת חלק מסיבות אישיות שלהם ואין לי כל דחף לשפוט אותם.. זה לא מקומי.. אני ער לכך שהם מייצגים מיעוט אבל בסך הכל העלתי נקודה - לא מצדיק את התוקפנות שיש פה..

יאללה - סלאם אליקום

yudit said...

Lirun's comments, more:
there are some very repsected bloggers with a past involvement in the adult industry.. its not my place or business to name anyone.. but having spoken to them i have learned that its not all about suffering.. there are many willing participants in this industry and i dont judge or look down on any of them..

having said that.. those women who fall into this industry through no choice of their own and are trapped - those i feel sorry for..

yudit said...

More iof Lirun's comments which he deleted:
actually i have to add.. two of my friends in telaviv.. just yesterday were talking about how they might start a friday night kiddush for prostitutes without families..

the girl out of the couple being particularly keen..

curious to see whether they follow through..

yudit said...

More of Lirun, copy paste word by word, no alterations:
jp - i dont know where you are from.. nor do i care..

it takes all kinds to make up this world.. prostitutes.. pimps.. some of them willing and and even people like you..

there is an upmarket industry of adult services that isnt nearly as dark.. where the only people that suffer are the unsuspecting spouses and children once they find out..

anyway.. not even sure why i respond to you..

:)