Venice Port pier is crowded with people.
"Don't be crowded, don't be crowded. Everyone should line up and register their information first. Then you can get your number and board the ship. People behind you should not jump in the queue or get in the way. We will be here these days, so don't worry!" The staff of Immigration Office in East Africa stood on the top of the wooden box with a loudspeaker and shouted to the crowd.
As Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Italy, the fools in the Venice area who had not yet boarded the ship woke up from a dream - war is coming!
In fact, after the smart people discovered that Kingdom of Italy was sending more troops to the Venice and Lombardy areas, they 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 Austro-Hungarian Empire and Italy hinterlands, or simply take refuge in France or Switzerland and other regions.
This year is just different from previous years. Kingdom of East Africa and Hohenzollern Conglomerate have made arrangements in advance. Many ports in Italy have already parked ships bound for East Africa.
Ordinary people are avoiding the war, which means they are unemployed. If they want to survive this period, they must either seek refuge with relatives and friends, or find another job in a peaceful place.
Among these people, the workers in the Venice area can be said to have some skills after all. But now that Europe's industrialization is accelerating, many places are short of workers. The unlucky ones are the farmers. Many of them will only farm in their lives. In the past, when wars broke out, a few people had relatives abroad and could defect. Most people could only stay where they were and were screened out by the war.
East Africa has been recruiting immigrants in Italy for some time, and the results are generally average, because Italy people go to many places, and there are a large number of Italian immigrants in North and South America. Now When the war broke out, people in the Venice area thoughtlessly chose ships to go to East Africa. In addition to being free, the most important thing was that Hechingen had the largest number of immigrant ships here.
"What's your name? Where do you come from Venice? To the specific village or town, do you have any relatives following you? What's your original occupation? Do you have any special skills?"
"Sir, my name is Thomas. I am from Timosto Village east of Venice. I am followed by my wife and two daughters. What's my profession? I am just a farmer. If I am good at fishing, does it count?"
"Of course!" the staff member replied.
Then he wrote 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? Meet there and someone will take you on the boat!" The staff handed Thomas a yellow sign with the number 3303 written on it.
"Sir! Excuse me..."
"Don't ask now! If you have anything to do, go and tell the person leading the team. I'm only responsible for registration here, so hurry up and leave! There are still many people queuing up behind you!" the staff member urged.
"Okay, sir, I'm sorry!" Thomas apologized, and had to turn around and pick up his family first with the number plate.
Thomas struggled to squeeze through the crowd, turned a few corners, and finally saw his wife and daughter under a streetlight.
"Jenny, I'm back, I got the boat license, look!"
"Dear, there is only one brand, why don't I and the child use it?"
"The person who recruited immigrants told me that you can go gather with your family with this sign, so one sign should be enough."
My wife took the sign to see if there was any logo on it, but it turned out that there was only a bunch of German characters on it, which she couldn't understand.
"Maybe this is a sign for families. I saw many people getting signs with different colors than ours, but those who bring their families are all yellow."
Thomas scratched his head and said, "Maybe so! I originally 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. There were signs of other colors not far away.
"Mom and Dad, where are we going? There are many people here." Thomas's youngest daughter, little Jenny asked.
Thomas squatted down and said to little Jenny: "We are going to a very far away place, and we have to take a big ship and pass through the sea. That place is called East Africa, and our home will be there from now on."
"What about our old home?"
"The home we had before is gone."
"Why?"
"Because there..." Thomas didn't know how to describe to her daughter that the war was so cruel.
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 have to live in a new place."
"Then why doesn't Dad knock them down so we don't have to change homes?"
The couple fell silent.
"Don't crowd, please be quiet!" Venice, an employee of the shipyard, Mars, began to maintain the order of those boarding the ship.
"Before boarding the ship, let me introduce myself. I am the person in charge of immigration on this ship. You can call me Mars. If you have any questions about the next voyage, you can ask me." Mars said loudly in the lame Italian.
"I want to warn you beforehand that the place you are about to go to is East Africa, a country with order and the rule of law, so some loose and idle people can get off the ship now and don't regret it after arriving in East Africa. To be honest, the security in that place is stricter than in Europe, and there is a lack of entertainment venues. There are no casinos or pubs, so gamblers and drunkards can get off the ship now. At the same time, East Africa is not a free market and there is no cash transaction, so thieves and robbers can get off the ship in advance. There is no room for you to play."
Mars's words had an effect. Several families withdrew, and they were all couples without children. It seemed that they planned to "start a business" in East Africa, but Mars's words blocked their expectations for East Africa. Then they should go to United States and Argentina!
After these people quit, no one quit.
At this time, a person asked in the crowd, "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 most people. At the same time, the enforcement of laws in East Africa is much stricter than in Europe. This kind of environment is of course a good place for ordinary people. As long as you abide by the law, be honest and diligent at the same time, 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 to eat when we arrive in East Africa. It doesn't matter if it's a bit difficult or a bit tired." Someone asked the question that they were most concerned about.
"As long as you are willing to work, you can eat wherever you go. 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."
"Is it okay if I want to know what the main jobs are in East Africa?"
"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. The military benefits will be better. If you have the skills needed in East Africa, you can also apply for a corresponding job with the government."
"Sir, you said before that there is no currency in East Africa. How can we solve the problem with the cash we brought from Europe?"
"There are also banks in East Africa, where you can deposit money or exchange it for East African-specific shopping vouchers, which can be used to purchase some daily necessities."
Mars answered some questions about immigrants in detail. Finally, Mars gave these people a 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 Mars's few words, these people got 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 monotonous, but they don't care. The prosperity of Europe has nothing to do with these low-class people in the countryside.
The immigrants who passed the secondary screening were thus absorbed by Kingdom of East Africa. According to subsequent statistics, Italo-Austrian War resulted in an outflow of approximately 300,000 more people from the Italy region than in previous years, 90% of which went to East Africa, with the largest number in the Venice region.