Chapter 264: Escape from Venice
The Venice Harbor pier was crowded with people.
“Don’t push, don’t push, everyone line up, register your information first, then you can get your number plate to board the ship. People at the back don’t cut in line, don’t squeeze in. We will be here for the next few days, so don’t worry!” A staff member of the East African Immigration Office stood on top of a wooden box with a loudspeaker and shouted at the crowd.
As the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Italy, the fools in Venice who had not yet boarded the ship suddenly woke up from their dreams - the war was coming!
In fact, after the smart people discovered that the Kingdom of Italy had sent reinforcements to Venice and Lombardy, they had already tried to find a way to escape.
Based on past experience, most people with connections chose to flee to the heartland of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy, or simply seek refuge in France, Switzerland and other regions.
This year is different from previous years. The Kingdom of East Africa and the Hexingen Consortium made arrangements in advance, and many ports in Italy have already docked ships bound for East Africa.
For ordinary people, avoiding war means losing their jobs. If they want to survive this period, they either have to rely on relatives and friends or find a job in a peaceful place.
Among these people, the workers in the Venice area are still okay, after all, they have a skill. But now that industrialization in Europe is accelerating, many places are short of workers. The unlucky ones are the farmers, many of whom can only farm all their lives. In the past, when wars broke out, a few people had relatives abroad and could go there for refuge, but most people could only stay where they were and were eliminated by the war.
East Africa has been recruiting immigrants in Italy for some time, and the effect is usually mediocre, because Italian people have many places to go, and there are a large number of Italian immigrants in North America and South America. Now that the war has broken out, people in the Venice area don't care about anything and just choose ships to East Africa. In addition to being free, the most important thing is that there are the most immigrant ships from Hexingen here.
"What's your name? Where in Venice are you from? Specifically, which village or town? Do you have any relatives? What was your original occupation? Do you have any special skills?"
"Sir, my name is Thomas. I'm from the village of Timosto, east of Venice. I'm with my wife and two daughters. What's my occupation? I'm just a farmer. If I have a specialty, does fishing count?"
"Of course!" the staff member replied.
Then in the occupation column it was written: farmer and part-time fisherman.
"This is your number plate. Take it and bring your family with you. Come back here later. Do you see the yellow sign? Gather there and someone will take you on board!" The staff handed Thomas a yellow plate with the number 3303 written on it.
"Sir! Excuse me..."
"Don't ask for now! If you have any questions, go and tell the team leader. I'm only responsible for registration here. Let's go quickly! There are still many people queuing behind you!" the staff urged.
"Okay, sir, sorry!" Thomas apologized and turned around to pick up his family with the number plate.
Thomas struggled to squeeze through the crowd, turned a few corners, and finally saw his wife and daughter under a street lamp.
"Jenny, I'm back. I got the ship license. Take a look!"
"Honey, there's only one brand. Don't the kids and I need it?"
"The immigration recruiter told me that I can go to the assembly with my family by holding this sign, so one sign should be enough."
The wife took the sign and tried to see if there was any logo on it, but there was just a bunch of German words on it, which she couldn't understand.
"Maybe this is a family card. I saw many people got cards of a different color than ours, but all those with families got yellow cards."
Thomas scratched his head and said, "Maybe that's the case! I wanted to ask, but there were too many people and the staff member was a little impatient. He said we can gather at the designated location and then ask the leader."
As he spoke, he pointed to a yellow sign that was more than three meters high and was erected on the dock. There were also signs of other colors not far away.
"Mom and Dad, where are we going? There are so many people here." Thomas's little daughter, little Jenny, asked.
Thomas squatted down and said to little Jenny, "We are going to a very far place, and we have to take a big ship and cross the sea. It is called East Africa, and that will be our home from now on."
"What about our old home?"
“The home I used to have is gone.”
"Why?"
"Because there..." Thomas didn't know how to describe to his daughter how cruel the war was.
His wife Jenny came to the rescue and said, "Because two bad guys broke into our previous home, it is no longer suitable for us to live there. We need to move to a new place."
"Then why doesn't Dad beat them down? We won't have to move to another home!"
Both husband and wife fell silent.
…
"Don't push, be quiet!" Mars, an employee of the Venice Shipyard, began to maintain order among the people boarding the ship.
"Before boarding, let me introduce myself. I am the person in charge of immigration on this ship. You can call me Mars. You can ask me any questions about the upcoming voyage." Mars said loudly in poor Italian.
"Before that, I have to warn you. You are going to East Africa, an orderly country ruled by law. So some lazy and idle people can get off the ship now. Don't regret it when you get to East Africa. To be honest, the security there is stricter than in Europe. There are no entertainment venues, no casinos, and no pubs. So gamblers and drunkards can get off the ship now. At the same time, East Africa is not a free market at present. There is no cash transaction, so thieves and robbers can get off the ship in advance. There is no room for you to do anything there."
Mars' words worked. Several families withdrew, and they were all childless couples. It seemed that they were planning to "start a business" in East Africa again, but Mars' words blocked their expectations of East Africa. So they decided to go to the United States and Argentina!
After these people quit, no one quit.
At this time, a man in the crowd asked: "Mr. Mars, why does the East Africa you describe feel like a prison?"
Mars said calmly, "East Africa is a country ruled by law, and the law serves the interests of the majority. 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 abide by the law, are honest and hardworking, you will naturally live a comfortable life. We just don't welcome those who are idle, have poor control, or like to take shortcuts."
"I don't care about these. I just want to know whether we and our families can have enough food when we arrive in East Africa. It doesn't matter if it's a bit hard or tiring." Someone asked the question that concerned him most.
"As long as you are willing to work, you can eat anywhere. I can tell you clearly that East Africa is short of manpower, so you don't have to worry about work. It just depends on whether you can accept it."
“I want to know what the main jobs in East Africa are, is that okay?”
"Generally speaking, it's farming, which is similar to what many of you have done for generations. Of course, you can also sign up to join the army, where the pay is better. If you have skills that East Africa needs, you can also apply for a job with the government."
"Sir, you said before that there is no currency in East Africa. What should we do with the cash we brought from Europe?"
"There are banks in East Africa too. You can deposit your money there or exchange it for East African shopping vouchers to buy some daily necessities."
…
Mars answered some of the immigrants' questions in detail. Finally, Mars gave these people one last choice: if they felt that East Africa was not suitable for their family, they could get off the ship.
No one chose to quit this time. From Mars's few words, these people obtained a lot of useful information. The most important thing was that the quality of life of most people going to East Africa was not much different from that in Europe. It was just that life was more monotonous than in Europe, but they didn't care. The prosperity of Europe had nothing to do with these low-level people in the countryside.
The immigrants who had passed the second screening were absorbed by the East African Kingdom. Later statistics showed that the Italo-Austrian War caused about 300,000 more people to leave Italy than in previous years, 90% of whom went to East Africa, with the largest number in Venice.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
