BY Teklebirhan Gebremichael
Zerefe, short for Zerfeshewal, was a beautiful, plump lady of 30 when she went into prostitution for lack of a better alternative. At school her concentration was badly derailed as a result of high– estrogen– driven high libido. She flunked out of school and became dependent on her puritanical parents, who frowned upon the slightest gestures of sexuality she was naturally inclined to show.
So, she was forced to run away from their home in Addis Ababa to Shashemene about 200 Km south. There she got a job as a waitress in one of the hottest so –called bars, which in effect were ( and probably still are) fleshpots of the highest order. Well, to cut a long story short, she made an awful lot of money selling sex.
Condoms (for males and females, the latter also known as femidoms) and contraceptives may be obtained from government -run health centers and NGO’s involved in family planning and reproductive health care free of charge, thus cutting Zerfe’s expenses, which were substantially small anyway. Quality perfume was a must in order to entice customers.
What was particularly interesting was that she tried to construct an income statement by referring to old BK notebooks she kept for introductory courses in business accounting in high school years ago.
It seemed it was her excessive libidinal energy which sort –of clouded her mind, which was otherwise obviously capable of thinking clearly as may be observed from the accurate format of the account she worked out.
Zerfe showed the income statement to one of her favorite customers (johns) who happened to be a certified accountant. He said: “Are you crazy! What is this? An income statement for a sole proprietorship? Come on, Zerfe, you know better than to try to construct such an elaborate profit and loss account for a simple, routine and mundane hanky- panky affair as coitus.
Well, it may have helped you brush up your bookkeeping lesson back in high school but that is about all it is good for. By the way, you might as well accompany it with a household finance account including expenditure on food, clothing, medical care, etc. in order to have some idea about your saving.”
“My saving is top-secret classified information which even the CIA and MI6 cannot access with all their sophisticated digital spying contraptions. My savings are the only consolation I have for having lost my virginity, self –respect and humanity in prostitution.
I have been dehumanized by prostitution. I have lost my self –respect and dignity because of it. It has left a deep scar on my psyche and personality as a whole and all that in the worship of money! So, it behooves me to make good use of my savings,” Zerfie’s voice had a bitter – sweet tone in it.
“Good use of your money, did you say?”
I like that. I know a thing or two about business. Would it be too presumptuous of me to suggest a few lines of business you may want to try? I hope you are pretty good at cooking. So, you may try the restaurant business.
Real estate is another possibility depending on the amount of capital you can raise,” said her customer, whose name was Yohannes, Johnny for short, but before he finished Zerfe interrupted him by saying: “ I can’t bear anything that demands any sort of physical exertions. I just want to make money on money.”
“Money on money, did you say? Good idea. How about loan sharking?” he said. “The moniker sounds awful. What sort of business is that?” she asked.
I know you are not a Muslim, so Riba does not apply to you. You can make a lot of money on interest by making loans at high rates. Usury laws don’t mean much in a highly inflationary economy such as that of Ethiopia.
You know something, in loan sharking , you can charge interest rates as high as 1500 percent per month. So, all you have to do is just look for high net –worth customers who just happen to run into a cash or liquidity problem,” Johnny said.
“Well, how smart of you! Those are the very kinds of people I would love to take revenge on! They made me do sex tricks I would not want to do but for the wads of cash they dangled before my eyes!” Zerfe said with an obvious bitterness in her tone.
“It was a deal. You got your money and they their thrill. If you consider prostitution, as a legally recognized profession, then your sex tricks are your trade –in – stock and their money a medium to effect the sexual transactions,” Johnny said.
“It is a cruel exchange and I was forced to make the choice in order to survive,” Zerfe said, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Come on, Zerfe, you’ve been well – compensated for your sexual services. What more could you have asked for?” Johnny tried to console her.
“Money cannot be compensation for loss of one’s dignity, self –respect and humanity. I said I did it for survival, for food, clothing and shelter but what is survival without self – esteem and dignity?” Zerfe said, pulling out her handkerchief from her handbag to wipe her eyes which were now producing teardrops more profusely.
Johnny said, ignoring her distraught, “with loan sharking you can make so much money that soon enough you would run out of ways to make use of it unless, of course, you dare to go into the major – league of business like high – tech and on –line retailing.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. What sort of collateral or security will there be for the money I lend?” Zerfe said, shoving her handkerchief back into her bag.
“Well, you can operate as a loan shark cum –pawnbroker”, Johnny replied.
“Great idea! The items pawned could be expensive jewelry including diamond rings and diamond –plated watches, etc.” Zerfe sounded quite exhilarated at the suggestion.
“We needn’t waste any more time talking about it because we can actually do it. I will get you registered as a pay –day lender and pawnbroker for the usual fee for business licensing,” Johnny said.
“Ok, Johnny. We will go back to Addis Ababa and do just that. In fact, we can go straightaway unless you have other ideas,” Zerfe replied.
“You bet,” Johnny said getting ready to fully cooperate.
Zerfe did what she had to do and left Shashemane with Johnny to secure the license officially for pay –day lender and pawnbroker. She finally succeeded in getting registered as a legal loan operator.
She thanked Johnny from the bottom of her heart and offered him 3000 birr for his facilitation services, but Johnny was not a man to beat with money and he slyly said:
“I’d rather have the compensation in kind” and left the encounter without accepting the money offer. But he did remind Zerfe of one important thing before he left. He had said: “Don’t forget to put up the smart sign above the entrance to the shop you have rented.”
Zerfe did as she was advised. Her first customer was an elderly woman who had just lost her husband. She wanted 500 birr for one week until her pension check arrived.
“Here, I will pawn my watch which I brought for 3000 birr three years ago,” the elderly lady said.
“Oh, no darling. Just give me your phone number and address,” Zerfe felt sorry for the lady.
The lady did as she was asked. Zerfe counted the cash and placed it in the woman’s outstretched hands. The woman could not believe her own eyes. She had all the cash she so desperately needed in just ten minutes and she said:
“I had thought folks like you had all died out long ago. I can’t thank you enough, my dear.”
However, Zerfe was much stricter with her other, particularly male, customers. One such person was an inveterate gambler by the name of Giovanni, a half –caste man – about –town whose net worth was estimated at about 5 million birr.
“Good morning, Madame, I have just run out of cash. I desperately need 50,000 birr in cash now. Here is a post –dated check for 100,000 birr a week from today. Here are my other personal details,” he said.
“Oh! Sir, thank you for making use of our services,” Zerfe said and received the check in exchange for the 50,000 birr she paid out to her apparently wealthy male customer.
A week later Zerfe went to a nearby bank where Giovanni had an account and presented the postdated check. But the bank teller told her: “Insufficient funds. The account has bounced and the guy will be charged the usual fees for a bounced account.”
Some three days later Giovanni drove to Zerfe payday lender and pawnbroker shop to apologize.
“I am so sorry, Madame. I am expecting my account to be credited with 500,000 birr in about two days. I will settle my debt then,” Giovanni said.
“You can pawn your car until then,” Zerfe said tersely.
“It is not mine. It is my friend’s,” Giovanni replied and as an afterthought he added, How about having lunch together at my home.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Zerfe said, her bitter prostitution memories coming to the fore. Giovanni’s home was really posh and an ideal place for the hanky –panky affair before lunch. Giovanni led her to his bedroom. Suddenly, Zerfe said : “I am not going to start doing anything until you show me your stock –in –trade in sex tricks!”
The Ethiopian Herald March 4/2021
