The Jakarta Post, August 09, 2002
Ambonese keep on partying despite tension
Pandaya, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
Bombs occasionally jolt the city. Rubble and debris litter the floors of buildings, which
lay in a state of ruin from the three-year-old sectarian fighting. Heavily armed soldiers
patrol the street 24 hours a day. Fresh fighting could break out any time.
But the famous fun-loving Ambonese keep on partying, dancing and singing as if
nothing is going on.
Pubs and karaoke lounges are making a comeback as security improves. Roadside
vendors offering traditional fare and basic commodities are doing business late into
the night.
Just last week, residents were delighted when a new discotheque opened at Planet
2000, the largest entertainment spot in Maluku. More roadside pubs, which look more
like Padang cafes in Jakarta from the outside, have also reopened.
Even though entertainment spots can only be found in the Christian area, they have
offered respite to the stressful life in this war-ravaged city as well as added to the
sense of security.
Something that the Ambonese lament most is probably the disappearance of their
traditional all-night private dance parties where those attending, men and women,
feast, sing and dance inside a locked house and nobody is allowed to leave until
dawn.
But many hope the tradition will resume when the economy and security eventually
get better.
"Even now you can sometimes find people lying flat in the middle of the street too
drunk to go home after attending a party," said "Solina", an employee of an
international organization.
Hotels, which do not have many guests staying there anymore, keep up their
entertainment facilities, such as pubs and karaoke, albeit they close earlier. Hotel
Mutiara on Jl. Pattimura, for example, is trying to make their few guests feel at home
with live music and karaoke in its restaurant for an hour or so, depending on when
patrons appear.
Although the bar is manned only by a keyboard player, the few hungry guests that
come and go when they please fight for the karaoke microphone to sing a song, while
others hit the floor for the indigenous poco-poco dance.
Before the war, Ambon was probably the most lively city in eastern Indonesia in terms
of nightlife. But the conflict that began in 1999 has not only shattered the economy
but also segregated the community into Christians and Muslims.
Nightclub Santai, Ambon's first and most popular until 1999, is now history. Located
in the Muslim area, it will probably never see the light of day again because the
Muslim community openly rejects any activity they deem "non-Islamic".
"I don't know what to do with it," the club's owner, Johny Betago, a big name in the
local tourist and entertainment industry, told The Jakarta Post.
Other few remaining night spots elsewhere in the Muslim territory have also been
closed. Locals say that these places were generally owned by Christians, who have
fled from Muslim-controlled territories.
And this bad news is apparently good for the upscale Planet 2000 nightclub, which
opens at 3 p.m. for karaoke before the stage is turned over to a band that plays live
music from 8 p.m. until 11 p.m., and then it becomes a discotheque.
When the clock strikes nine, more cars drive up to the premises, the doors fly open,
and women and men step out laughing all the way to the skyscraper.
For those unfamiliar with the situation in Ambon, even an entertainment spot such as
the Planet looks scary from the outside. Buildings in the area are full of holes and
cracks resulting from the bullets fired from a nearby hill when warring mobs exchange
gunfire.
Armed soldiers guard the entrance and watch each bystander. Visitors begin their
night out by bidding them a good evening with a smile or giving them a military salute,
if you feel comfortable about it.
Regulars are, of course, not bothered by the soldiers, who are omnipresent in war-torn
Ambon. But if you are new to the area, do not worry, your quickening heart beat from
seeing the soldiers will soon be back to normal when you set foot on the dance floor
at Level 5.
Blinding colorful disco lights and deafening house music blaring from the powerful
sound systems make everyone forget about the bitter reality of life outside.
Theoretically, people are not allowed on the street after 10 p.m. without a good reason
because of a night curfew imposed by the civil emergency administrator. It is safe to
go out at night but it is recommended that people do not cross the demarcation line,
especially at night, as tension remains.
What is wonderful about the night curfew is that it is not strictly enforced. Just be
prepared for a security check on streets close to the white (Muslim) and red
(Christian) territories. A body search is standard procedure.
The crime rate on the streets is low, so say locals and long-time residents. Women
continue to wear expensive jewelry when they are in public places, such as the
market, shopping malls and in upscale pubs.
Shops and traditional markets, which have become the barometer of security in any
area, usually close by 6 p.m., but night markets have sprung up over the past couple
of years after markets and shops were reduced to ashes. However, in neutral zones
where Muslims and Christians can do business together, night street markets are
open until well after 9 p.m.
In Ambon, the low-income bracket, too, can exercise their right to go to the club.
There are small roadside pubs where the less privileged can enjoy their evenings
leisurely downing some beer and shooting the breeze with friends.
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