Chapter 264 Escape from Venice
The port of Venice was crowded with people.
"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze, everyone is lined up, first register the information, and then you can get the number plate to board the ship, the people behind don't jump in the queue, don't stop, we will be here for a few days, so don't worry! "The staff of the East African Immigration Department stood on the top of the wooden box with a loudspeaker and shouted at the crowd.
As the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Italy, the foolish people in the Venice area who hadn’t boarded the boat woke up like a dream—the war is coming!
In fact, after discovering that the Kingdom of Italy had increased its troops to Venice and Lombardy, the smart people had already tried to find a way to escape from this place.
According to the experience of previous years, most people with connections choose to flee to the hinterland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, or simply seek refuge in France or Switzerland.
This year is just different from previous years. The Kingdom of East Africa and the Hexingen Consortium have made arrangements ahead of time, and many ports in Italy have already parked ships to East Africa.
Ordinary people avoid war, which means unemployment. If they want to survive this period, they must either seek refuge with relatives and friends, or go to a peaceful place to find another job.
Among these people, the workers in the Venice region are lucky to say that they have skills after all. Now that the industrialization of Europe is accelerating, many places are short of workers. The unlucky ones are those farmers. Some relatives can still defect, but most of them can only stay where they are, being screened out by the war.
East Africa has been recruiting immigrants in Italy for some time, and the usual results are mediocre, because the Italian people go to many places, and there are a large number of Italian immigrants in North America and South America. Now that the war broke out, the people in the Venice area don’t care about it. Nao chooses the ship to go to East Africa. Apart from being free, the most important thing is that Hexingen has the most immigrant ships here.
"What's your name, where in Venice do you come from, do you have any relatives to follow you, your original occupation, and do you have any specialties?"
"Sir, my name is Thomas, and I am from the village of Timoto in the east of Venice. I am accompanied by my wife and two daughters. What is my occupation? I am a farmer. If I am good at fishing, does it count?"
"Of course!" the staff replied.
Then write in the occupation column: farmer part-time fisherman.
"This is your number plate. Take it and bring your family with you. When you come back here later, have you seen the yellow sign? Gather there, and someone will take you on board!" the staff handed Give Thomas a yellow sign with the number 3303 on it.
"Sir! Excuse me..."
"Don't ask now! If you have anything to do, go and tell the leader of the team later. I am only in charge of registration here, so hurry up! There are still many people queuing up behind!" The staff urged.
"Okay, sir, I'm sorry!" Thomas apologized, and had no choice but to turn around and take the number plate to pick up his family first.
Thomas struggled to squeeze through the crowd, turned a few turns, and finally saw his wife and daughter under a streetlight.
"Jenny, I'm back, I got the boat license, look!"
"Honey, there is only one brand, can I use it with my child?"
“The person recruiting immigrants told me that you can gather with your family with this sign, so one sign should be enough.”
My wife took the sign and wanted to see if there was any logo on it, but there was only a bunch of German on it, which I couldn't understand.
"Maybe this is a family sign. I saw that many people got a different color from ours, but as long as they bring their families, they are all yellow."
Thomas scratched his head and said, "Maybe so! I wanted to ask, but there were too many people, and the staff member was a little impatient. He said that we can just ask the team leader after we gather at the designated place."
As he spoke, he pointed to the three-meter-high yellow sign erected on the pier, and there were signs of other colors not far away.
Thomas knelt down and said to little Jenny: "We are going to a faraway place, and we have to take a big boat and pass through the sea. That place is called East Africa, and our home will be there from now on."
"What about our former home!"
"The old home is gone."
"Why?"
"Because there..." Thomas didn't know how to describe to his daughter that the war was so cruel.
Wife Jenny rescued at this time: "Because two big villains broke into our previous home, so it is not suitable for us to live there, we have to live in a new place."
"Then why didn't dad beat them, so we don't have to change houses!"
Both husband and wife fell into silence.
…
"Don't squeeze, please be quiet!" Mars, an employee of the Venice shipyard, began to maintain the order of the boarding personnel.
"Before boarding the ship, let me introduce myself first. I am the person in charge of immigration on this ship. You can call me Mars, and you can ask me any questions you have during the next voyage." Mars said in crappy Italian said out loud.
"Before that, I would like to warn you that the place you are going to is East Africa, an orderly country ruled by law, so some loose and idle people can disembark now, and don't regret it when you arrive in East Africa. The law and order in that place is honestly better than that in Europe. Be strict, and there is a lack of entertainment venues, no casinos, taverns, so gamblers and alcoholics can disembark now, and at the same time, East Africa is not currently a free market, there is no cash transaction, so thieves and robbers can disembark early, there is no room for you to play."
Mars’ words helped. Several families withdrew, and they were all couples without children. It seemed that they planned to start a new business in East Africa, but Mars’ words blocked their expectations for East Africa. Or go to the United States and Argentina!
After these people quit, no one quit.
At this time, a person in the crowd asked: "Mr. Mars, why does East Africa feel like a prison in your description?"
Mars said indifferently: "East Africa is a country ruled by law, and the law serves the interests of most people. At the same time, the enforcement of laws in East Africa is much stricter than in Europe. Such an environment is of course a good place for ordinary people. As long as You are law-abiding, honest and hardworking, and you will naturally live comfortably, we just don’t welcome those who are idle, have poor desire for control, or like to take 'shortcuts'."
"I don't care about these things. I just want to know if we and our families can have enough food in East Africa. It doesn't matter if it's hard or tiring." Someone asked the question he cared most about.
"As long as you are willing to work, you can eat wherever you go. I can tell you clearly that there is a shortage of manpower in East Africa, so don't worry about work. It just depends on whether you can accept it."
"I want to know what is the main job in East Africa?"
"Generally speaking, it is farming, which is similar to what many of you have done for generations. Of course, you can also sign up to join the army, and the army will pay you better. If you have the skills needed in East Africa, you can also apply for a corresponding job with the government."
"Sir, you said earlier that there is no currency in East Africa, how to deal with the cash we brought from Europe."
"There are also banks in East Africa. You can deposit your money in it, or exchange it for shopping coupons unique to East Africa to buy some daily necessities."
…
Mars answered some questions about immigrants in detail, and finally Mars gave these people the last choice. If they feel that East Africa is not suitable for their families, they can disembark.
No one chose to quit this time. From the few words of Mars, these people have obtained a lot of effective information. The most important thing is that the quality of life of most people in East Africa has not changed much from that in Europe. Compared with Europe, life is more It's a bit monotonous, but they don't care, the prosperity of Europe has nothing to do with these low-level people in the countryside.
The immigrants who had passed the second screening were absorbed by the Kingdom of East Africa in this way. Afterwards, the Italian-Austrian War led to an outflow of more than 300,000 people from Italy than in previous years, and 90% of them went to East Africa, with the largest number in Venice.
(end of this chapter)