Some viperian tongues maintain that Barwa Al Janoub is a place particularly sought after by the organizers of the World Cup so that the most rebellious and restless groups, perhaps those considered the least presentable of the World Cup, would not disturb the nerve centers of the city, especially the bravas bars Argentines, who for the first time since Spain 1982 could not place their main leaders in the stands due to the implementation of the so-called Hayya Card, a kind of visa to enter the country, but which serves for everything: for public transport, to get a phone line or to gain access to a hotel or match ticket. “Because it is personal, with name, surname and photo, the Hayya Card proved to be a limitation for the violent because the Argentine government supplied Qatar with the names of the leaders of the different brave bars, to whom the card was not issued. Although it was not possible to prevent some of them from arriving, they are from the second lines, with less power and influence in their clubs and are less of a nuisance in the World Cup”, Argentine ambassador Guillermo Nicolás explains to ARA.
Barwa Barahat Al Janoub is an apartment complex of no more than five floors, with only two categories in agreement with a difference of thirty euros per day between them. While a hotel room in downtown Doha or the coast (areas like the Corniche and West Bay) is close to one hundred and twenty dollars a day, an apartment in this secluded part of the city can range from forty to fifty. The cheapest have iron beds, a bathroom with shower, cleaning service every three days, and every four apartments on the same floor a space for a microwave, an iron and a fridge. The inhabitants of the neighborhood (mostly Saudi Arabs, Mexicans, Argentines, Uruguayans and Moroccans) can approach, in the face of any problem, a central administration controlled by the hotel company Accor. Each building has a letter that identifies it and its own administrative center, with supermarkets open all day. There are also free buses to the airport or Al Wakra, the nearest metro station. Buses that hardly stop from 4 to 6 in the morning.
At the rhythm of cumbia
To the peaceful coexistence between so many groups, we must add businesses, such as the resale of tickets and the sale of T-shirts. It is even possible to get, for free, a phone chip with internet to throw for three days, until you get a definitive one. T-shirt swapping is also common and the in-house football tournament at the court complex at the entrance, near the mosque, is all the rage and matches can be seen even in the wee hours, with artificial lighting One of the characters that has become more popular in Barwa Al Janoub is Marti Teclas, an Argentine cumbia musician who has been called to the national team’s rally more than once albiceleste to encourage the players with mini-recitals. He financed his trip to Qatar from Buenos Aires as best he could and sleeps in this popular area. And to distract his compatriots, he started playing in the morning and the number of followers increased until he became a real phenomenon. It now brings together audiences from various groups in the neighborhood. Teclas doesn’t even wear his cap, knowing the more precarious situation of his compatriots, far removed from those Argentines who live in Europe and who in many cases do not even resemble those who live in Argentina, because they wear shirts of Pumas, the rugby team, or of Manu Ginóbili, the idol of Argentine basketball. Nor do they resemble his chants. Not only does Teclas not collect, but when on one occasion someone wanted people to deposit something for the artist, when he received the collection he saw a fifty euro note and rejected it. “Who left this? Let him take it away. It’s a lot of money,” he said.
The truth is that the same people who might have scolded each other in the stadiums with shouts like “Brazil, tell me what it feels like to have your father in Doha” or “Pelé has more titles than Argentina” manage to live together almost without problems just crossing the welcome arch of Al Janoub, the B side of the World Cup, far from the luxuries of the big city.
