Amsterdam: World’s Famous Red-light Area Faces ‘Clean Up’

Whenever there is a mention of Red-light Area/District, two countries immediately come to mind for different reasons. While in Saudi Arabia this thought could rarely occur for fear of lashes on the buttocks freezing the wildest libido dream, the Netherlands has managed to attract the libidinous lot from far and wide without fear and restraint…that is until recently.

Reuters tells us that the city of Amsterdam announced plans Monday “to clean up its infamous ‘red light’ district to fight human trafficking, money laundering and drug abuse and replace prostitutes’ windows with upmarket boutiques.”

About two decades ago when I arrived at the Amsterdam railway station, I was mesmerized by the window “shows” and open soliciting (please remember that I was coming from the prudish/hyprocritical India…a temperament that matches well with American prudery/hypocrisy in such matters). No one could miss this red-light place…and I was on my way to meet my Dutch friends (a couple – both distinguished professors of philosophy) in their very respectable surroundings some distance away.

I have always marvelled at the peaceful/harmonious coexistence of people in Amsterdam with different mental/physical levels/lifestyles.

Let me continue with the Reuters story: “Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen told a news conference he wanted to clamp down on the organized criminals whose growing influence has corrupted the historic city center.

” ‘The romantic picture of the area is outdated if you see the abuses in the sex industry and that is why the council has to act,’ he said. ‘We don’t want to get rid of prostitution but we do want to cut crime significantly’.

“Prostitutes have plied their wares in the narrow alleys of the old center of Amsterdam for centuries. While they used to attract sailors and merchants in the city’s heyday as the heart of a global trading empire, they are now a huge tourist draw.

“Deputy mayor Lodewijk Asscher said the city wants to restore a number of historic buildings and reverse the decline of a large central area where brothels, sex clubs and the coffee shops that sell marijuana line the city’s canals. The neon-lit boudoirs that earn about 70 million euros ($100 million) a year should be limited to a few streets while drop-in centers for the homeless and drug addicts are relocated.

“They will be replaced by chic apartments, upmarket shops, galleries and high-quality hotels and restaurants, Asscher said, adding that young fashion designers already plan to display their clothes in the windows of one former brothel from January.

“Mariska Majoor, a former prostitute who now runs an information center in the red light district, said the city’s plans could force hundreds of women out of work or underground.” More here…

The painting above is by 16th/17th century artist Dirck van Baburen,at this site…