As midnight approaches, partygoers leave the Corniche, Doha’s seven-kilometre-long seafront promenade with its fantastic view of skyscrapers, and head towards the subway stations. A never-ending stream of sober men, women and children. Imagine the Al-Billa subway station like a whale lying there with its mouth open and sucking the krill into its gullet: Because deep down every minute a new train spreads people further into the bowels of the city, flocking and pour in at the top, and no one would think of just stopping and blocking the way. But you never know.
In any case, you can hear him from afar, the man with the megaphone, the accent is Indian, like so many residents of Doha. “Please keep going forward, do not block the way. Please keep going forward, do not block the way”, without a pause, keep going, “please keep going forward, do not block the way.” Does this man never need to breathe? What does he dream about at night? And why does he never promise himself? Cheese peep nothing forward and blue dock the way…
Shortly before one is sucked into the U-whale’s maw, the resolution: The man standing there in front of the entrance doesn’t move his lips! His megaphone speaks by itself. Apparently a self-talking megaphone made in India.
Automated work is just a trend of the time. The IT specialist from the USA comes to mind, who automated his bookkeeping job while working from home during the corona lockdown: he programmed a script that did everything and went on vacation for a year without anyone noticing. Doha’s transport system hasn’t gotten that far yet. The Indian doesn’t have to say anything anymore, but he still has to endure what is said.
Nevertheless: It’s great when a few soldered microchips do the work for you. Instead of the arduous task of writing a World Cup glossary, you could lounge in a deck chair on the Corniche and order a non-alcoholic lemon and mint cocktail. Perhaps the usual quality of the World Cup glosses could not be guaranteed at first, but trying to find out if that someone notices, it would be worth it. Just leave the computer on and go, Adíos, bye by ö… Thanks for reading this gloss, don’t stop. Thank you for reading this glossary, don’t stop there. Thank you for reading this glossary, don’t stop there. Thank you for reading this glossary, don’t stop there. Thank you for reading this glossary, don’t stop there.