Monrovia – A fifteen-year-old girl emerged from nowhere, and whispered into your ear. “I will do you well – Just LD$300 for short time.”
And before you knew what was happening, a horde of other ladies descended on you, displaying their sizes, shapes, heights, and flaunted their boobs at you, all in the bid to gain your attention and patronage.
This is Talk of the Town at broad day. At Talk of the Town, which is adjacent the Metro Police Station on Center Street in Monrovia, sex, drink and humanizing are the three deadly habits ruling the place.
This is the dimension to which prostitution in Liberia has assumed a new dimension, merging day and night into one, as women try to coax a living.
The area opens as early as 07: 00am
As early as 7am, women who go to the area and start taking position in and along the road to solicit customers.
At Talk of the Town, the young ladies in their early 20s, and late 30s, half-naked flood the place. While some did what they called solo soliciting men, some smoked and drank ceaselessly.
With LD$300 you are allowed for a short time at the chalets, which contains with a six-spring bed and low profile foam to your disgust.
And what are their charges? Depending on what time of the day, you could be asked to pay about LD $00, if they notice you are strange in the terrain, and when it is getting late, anything goes for loose women.
However, the disheartening thing about the whole activities that goes on, in this place is the fact that under-aged girls are involved in the illicit sex trade. One of them, about twelve years old, and from Camp Johnson road, as she claimed, was seen puffing off her cigarette, and soliciting patronage.
She seemed to be unmindful of what she was doing and never gave a damn. FrontPage Africa investigation revealed that, most of the prostitutes come from far and near places to Talk of the Town to carry out their nefarious activities during the day.
A man of about 30, comely and elegantly attired, is leaning on his silver car; he shifts legs and then signals to one of the women, who cautiously saunter towards him.
The two exchange words and voila, in less than a minute they reach a deal — which takes them to one of the rooms in the area.
When FrontPage Africa reporter approached the remaining group, (with no cameras of course) the women looked expectant, hopeful that they were about to do business again. But it is not easy to convince these hardened women to open up, they loathe intrusion in particular from the Police and journalists.
“How much are you going to pay for the interview,” asked one of the girls dressed in a skimpy and tightly fitting scarlet dress.
But we could not pay and took time befriending the proud ladies of the night — oops!! — of the day. In the end the red- dressed girl (we will call her Memory) obliged to give us an interview.
“It’s an open secret,” says Memory, the woman who appears to be unfazed by stereotypes attached to the profession which she stumbled upon.
“People know that this place operates during the day. Okay, except maybe for the married women but men know,” she adds, smiling naughtily.
And indeed men seem to know because these women seem to be the archetypical advertisers who parade themselves in ways a few men can dismiss. They entice men for a price of between $5 to $20, share flats and work around the clock.
Wary of Police they dress more decently than during the night when prostitutes parade their ‘produce’ almost naked.
‘Police aware but afraid to act’
A Police officer who spoke to FrontPage Africa on condition of abnormity said they are aware of the illicit sex that go the area but said they have been told not to embarrass the girls.
“We have known those girls for a long period of time. They are our friends and besides earning a living in Liberia has become difficult now and that’s the only way they feel themselves,” the Police officer added.