They prowl Orange Grove’s streets, Johannesburg, at night and leave their condoms lying around – even on the premises of a creche.

Residents of Second and Third streets, and Second and Third avenues, close to Louis Botha Avenue, are at their wits’ end.

They have had to put up with prostitution in the residential streets for the past five years and with authorities seemingly indifferent to their plight.

The problem is growing daily, with up to 20 prostitutes at any given time waiting for clients on the street.

‘The prostitutes swear and shout at us to get back into our homes’
They either ply their business parked in the client’s car or drive a block or so further into the suburb to park.

The prostitutes simply dispose of their used condoms on the pavement and wait for the next client. They also use the verges as makeshift toilets.

So cheeky are some of them that one resorted to using an old couple’s veranda to do her business. The old couple, both of whom have since died, were very traumatised by the incident, said Mario Portolan, a neighbour who was infuriated by residents’ helplessness.

Portolan said residents were harassed daily on their street, whenever they walked their dogs or saw visitors off.

“The prostitutes swear and shout at us to get back into our homes because we are driving their customers away. We see them… lifting their skirts and opening their shirts, and showing their private parts to whoever comes by,” he said.

“I had two flashing at me outside my front gate one day and I turned the hosepipe on them.”

Residents have had to put up with the noise of idling cars, hooting, shouting and fighting all night long, with the weekends being the worst.

On a walkabout with The Star, Portolan counted seven used condoms in one short street alone, including one in a planter outside a creche. Used toilet paper lay on one of the verges.

Portolan was almost in tears as he pulled condom after condom from the bushes.

“No one, absolutely no one, understands what we go through. We want to live with dignity and honour on our own properties. There are about 200 schoolchildren who walk to and from Louis Botha Avenue to catch buses and taxis from nearby schools and they are exposed to this,” he said.

“What kind of a world do we live in that no one will help? It is not right. What more can we do?”

“The rich clients who come in their fancy cars would not put up with this in their (own) areas. What about the promises made recently by Johannesburg’s Mayor Amos Masondo of a clean, well-maintained city? I wish he would come here and see what our children are exposed to.”

Many residents had complained repeatedly to the Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) via the Joburg call centre without a single response, he said. From time to time, the police performed raids, but the prostitutes returned as soon as they left.

Another resident, pensioner Wally Romain, was more resigned in his comments.

“It’s been going on for so long. I just come out every couple of mornings and clear out the condoms. What else can I do? We hear them and see them walking around all night, but no one does anything about it.”

Wayne Minnaar, a spokesperson for the JMPD, said he did not know to whom residents had addressed their complaints, because none had been brought to his attention.

He added that he was unaware of there being prostitutes in Orange Grove.

Minnaar said the matter would be investigated and action taken.

Reports should have been made direct to the North Eastern Sector “or to my office”, he said.

This article was originally published on page 5 of The Star on February 14, 2005

Source: Independent Online (IOL)
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click…/p>