The lounge has a hybrid feel between a luxury hotel, shopping mall and office building. When you enter through the glass door, a cumbersome metal control awaits the visitor. No wonder they are present in almost all enclosed spaces in this country. Wallet, cell phone, and lighter in their pockets, and an African security guard giving the green light to our visit, like almost everyone else who’s dedicated to the job..

On the left, a woman dressed in a Western style walks to a stall selling jewelery and cologne. It’s already past midnight, but here it is, business hours are endless in Qatar. There are elevators at the front, the 14th floor is well marked on buttons with the name sought.

That’s where we were going. Wednesday, December 9th, is the first non-game day in the entire World Cup after two and a half weeks at full capacity.. Set a table and tablecloth for dinner is a good day to relax for a bit and then try a drink with friends. They tell us about a luxury hotel near the Corniche promenade, in the middle of the triangle consisting of Souq Waqif bazaar, Qatar National Museum and Doha cruise terminal. On the 14th floor of a hotel that charges a minimum of $282 per night during the World Cup, there is alcohol and parties, as I later confirmed in the list the emirate provided us months ago, they assure us. I would like to check.

a dark corridor

The elevator opens its doors at our destination. In front of the light of the hall, there is a dark corridor that is poorly lit before us.and a new security guard who politely invites us to go to our left. A few meters ahead, we form a small queue in front of an equally dark, dirty and messy counter.

While waiting for my turn, I notice him looking at the stacked passports. I am clear that I will not leave mine and that I will turn my back and sleep if that is the condition to enter. At least not for us. They just want to take a picture of our Khayya, Digital visa created by Qatar World. We reluctantly agree and go through the little door on our left.

Before us is a strange place, a hybrid of many different organizations. To the left is a counter with a half-open door and signs for sale of hamburgers and hot dogs. On the right, Western music was played live on the high tables. In front is a bar, decorated in Irish style, with beer and fine spirits.

hidden alcohol

By then, we already knew that the alleged alcohol ban in Qatar was a big bullshit. The regime does not ban its consumption, only vetoes its consumption in public, outside the ‘fan zones’, during the World Cup. In Doha, where alcohol is sold, there is not a single terrace on the sidewalk or a bar at street level, not all outlets are in private areas and are not suitable for every budget. For the average westerner yes, but not for the vast majority of immigrants working in the country. This is one of the many hypocrisies that plague the country: vices are practically prohibited only for the poor..

The smell of tobacco coming from the joint fills the place. On the 14th floor there are no Qataris, or at least no robes as they usually are. I understand there are Westerners who are in Doha for the World Cup and there are immigrants from India and Bangladesh dancing with enthusiasm and inviting you to do it with them cheerfully and persistently.. I am of the opinion that the passports on the counter at the entrance belong to these young people residing in Qatar, who cannot go on pilgrimage due to their immigrant status.

nothing hidden prostitution

Most of us have men. We soon realize that the hypocrisy with alcohol is by far the mildest. Something much more serious is happening before our eyes: the few women in the locale are almost all prostitutes, all black skinned. They try to do their ‘work’ but not in an invasive way. If you look at them, they look at you but do not take the initiative, they wait for the whore to do if they want. I don’t detect any ‘pimps’ around, although it certainly does. I think maybe it is the security personnel who perform this function.

Prostitution is illegal in Qatar and those who practice and consume it face up to 10 years in prison.. attacking from the front is a serious crime. Islamic principles that in theory govern this country. However, in order to come here, we only had to go through the security check and show our Hajj. In such places, it must have been a job agreed by the regime officials due to force majeure.

two floors up

While contemplating the scenes, we had a few beers for the modest 13 euros each. Asian immigrants don’t even approach women, but some white-looking Westerners do. They caress and kiss them. One of us returns from the bathroom and says that one of the girls encouraged him to go to another room in the same hotel, two floors up.. Curiosity overpowers us and we decide to accept the invitation.

We cross the dark and gloomy corridor again and reach the 16th floor. The view when the elevator opens has nothing to do with what’s two floors down. A normal tavern with two security guards at the door claiming to have photographed our digital Hayya again.

Inside, everything is different except the cigarette smoke. Asian immigrants disappeared from the scene, this is clearly a western-only venue and so they encouraged us to come. I conclude that they help us distinguish ourselves from people who are inferior to us in their class logic.. Drinks have doubled up and doubled their prices. And there are still many prostitutes, but this one is different. Although it may not seem so at first glance, those on the 16th floor are closer to a brothel than a tavern.

Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia…

Unlike the prostitutes in the previous place, here they don’t expect you to take care of them or take the initiative. They approach without imitation and ask where you are from. When they see the slightest interest in conversation, they immediately place their hands on your genitals. Physically, it is women who conform much more to the prevailing Western canon of beauty. Most are Africans from Kenya, Nigeria, Eritrea or Ethiopia, although there are also Asians and Georgians.. The question remains as to how many of them were deceived to achieve. Train and they will be sexually exploited against their will. There are many indicators to consider that this has happened to most of them.

I started chatting with a few women to learn their stories. Nobody wants to tell me. When they realize that I’ve taken their hand off my pants and I’m not interested in their service, they walk away. After briefly exchanging information about our own countries, he directly asks me if I will go with him and I say no. Thank you for not wasting my time. Goodnight”.

solid hotels

As I explained, the prostitutes asked if we would go with them, never if we would take them with us. And this is no small detail. Inside Train Spending a night with someone who is not your legal partner is prohibited and hotels are on alert to prevent this from happening.. A colleague with a back problem told me that he wanted to hire the services of a recommended physiotherapy center to treat him at his hotel. They said it was not possible for the professional to be male or female. Another was visited by a friend in an apartment he shared with another journalist friend. After long insistence, they let him in, warning him that he had to leave before 10 pm. As the deadline approached, they stopped by his apartment to remind him later.

One day, a taxi driver told me that there are hotels that break this rule, and that he meets his girlfriend at one of them every Friday. They even take the risk of being shut down if they are caught, but there are those who make up for this risk. I describe my visit to the 14th and 16th floors of the luxury hotel and is not surprised by anything I say. I use her open knowledge of Qatar’s secret nightlife to ask her if she is also aware of male prostitution in Qatar. “Yes of course. Here’s what you want, if you can afford it.”

“Black market”

This reminded me a few days ago I saw a worker smoking an electronic cigarette at a famous clothing store. I get them too but I can’t get refills anywhere in Doha so I ask him where he got them. “It’s the only option available on the black market, but it’s very expensive,” he warns me. I took the opportunity to discover if this “black market” also offered drugs. Of course he told me to tell him what I wanted because he could have it for me.. With my journalistic ineptness, I told him I didn’t want drugs, I was just curious. He immediately cut off the conversation, said goodbye and left.

I understand that prostitute women know one of the hotels that do not listen to the prohibitions of the dictatorship or that they have a place to arrange and serve in the hotel. One of them does not back down and approaches me decisively: “You can come with me for $500.” luxury prostitution. An hour later, when the lights are on for the upcoming closing, he returns to offer her $100.. He probably doesn’t even remember addressing me before.

It’s 3:00 and the hotel’s 16th floor is about to close its doors. Time to sleep. The colony and the jewelery counter are already closed. The security personnel are still there, checking for any scandals. Taxis appear and prostitutes and some prostitutes get in them. At night, I say goodbye to my friends and walk towards my hotel. A little further ahead is a police car that certainly witnesses the blatant scene of prostitutes and prostitutes who are severely punished by law. Nevermind. This confirms to me that nothing is forbidden in Qatar as long as you do it carefully and above all can afford it. How hypocritical.