Empire of the Ring

Chapter 551: Kurdish Immigrants (3)

The increase in the number of population was not all good.

There were as many different people as much as the increased population.

Since the Kurds entered the royal territory, weird things that had never been experienced started to happen.

Beginning with petty thieves, big and small crimes began to occur. People’s bad habits from Syria did not disappear just because they moved to a different country.

The aftermath of the years-long war had changed people’s mindsets.

In Syria, the first person who saw the remains of a building collapsed by the artillery attack became the owner of them, and this kind of perception was a moral hazard to them. It would have been only natural for them to be in the middle of war, but this was where the law was alive.

“How could the most naive people in the world have changed this bad? It’s a pity that their environment turned them this way.”

“It means that they’ve had such a hard time. They may have done it without your knowledge, so we should give them a warning for the first and second times of their criminal acts.”

“You’re too optimistic. We should punish them harshly so that others wouldn’t think of committing any crime.”

“Commissioner, that’s what happened in the early days of the Arirang Autonomous State. Remember? Let’s wait and see.”

“It’s completely different from the Serbs. There is a widespread custom of taking other people’s things. The problem is that there is no sense of guilt. Without a special measure, the authority of the royal territory could be undermined.”

The Arirang royal territory became an orderly place because of Commissioner Kim Chun’s guide and efforts. If that order was broken because of the Kurdish immigrants, this could shake the authority of the royal family as well.

Until the Arirang state became the current royal territory, Kim Chun had put much efforts. Not a single piece of grass or a rock was left untouched by him. It was very upsetting that the fruits of such efforts were turned into disorder by outsiders.

“I understand your concern, Commissioner. But if you think about the Kurdish people’s past lives, you have to understand a little. They’ve lived in a lawless world with no control. They don’t even know what the basics are, so the punishment can’t be the best solution for them. Please follow my lead this time. And let’s continue to educate the residents and let them know why law and order are needed.”

“I admit I lacked effort, but I’m afraid the Kurds will follow us.”

“They’ll have to take it since there is no going back for them. At least they deserve to be praised for their loyalty.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them as you said. Although there is a moral problem, it is fortunate that they think our royal family is everything in the world.”

The Syrian Kurds were never the ones who had lived normal lives. They needed more attention and education until they could return to civilization. However, Youngho was relieved because their loyalty to the royal family was higher than any other people in Kazakhstan.

***

The Kurds, who met Jelyan on the first day of their arrival, were hoping Jelyan would visit the camps more often. The reason was that the atmosphere in the camps got much better whenever she visited them.

They adored Jelyan. It was amazing to see how they recognized her as their royal princess and respected her.

Sensing such an atmosphere, Jelyan was also frequently visiting the campsites holding Leon’s hand, giving the migrant people hope to live.

As usual, today, Jelyan, had visited the camps with Rena who had returned from South Ossetia and Leon. She was being chatty at the dinner table.

“Dad, we helped distributing food to people today.”

“Leon, too?”

“Yes. Leon worked on handing out apples, and the migrants were very grateful.”

“Wow, that’s something I never expected from him. Leon, working with your sisters has made you more like a grown-up.”

At Youngho’s praise, Leon smiled as he was flattered.

“Dad, but the kids are very bored because they don’t have any amusement facilities.”

Jelyan’s remark came as a shock. Even though Youngho was also a father of three children, he had not cared about the Kurdish children at the camps. There were no facilities for teenagers and children.

“Then what do the children do for fun?”

“When they come back from the temporary school, most of the time they’re just playing around the camp buildings. Daddy, please make them a playground and a place where they can play with a ball.”

“Of course! I’ll make one for them immediately. I’ll build an auditorium so I they can exercise indoors.”

“Thank you. Dad.”

Youngho was rather grateful for Jelyan because he would have missed an important thing if it were not for her.

The children who would lead the royal territory in the future were left on the bare ground without a proper play area.

Youngho had been so busy accepting migrants that he did not care about the more important things. Not just for the children, but most of the adults who were not working had nothing to do at the moment, and maybe that was why small and large crimes were frequently happening.

The Kurdish adults who were not working were not just fooling around. Their language barrier and lack of skills had stopped them from actively engaging in different activities in the royal territory.

In Syria, industries had not developed properly because of frequent battles, and people had no chance to learn work skills.

So, creating jobs were necessary to reduce peoples’ crimes.

Youngho planned to make the royal territory a mecca for Central Asian electronics in a few years from now, but for now, developing farmland and public works alone would create tens of thousands of jobs.

The priority was to create jobs that would allow the Kurdish migrants to devote themselves to. Construction and Civil Engineering were projects that could provide large-scale jobs, but they were only a temporary measure.

The fundamental solution was to foster manufacturing.

***

After hours of pondering with Eriksson, Youngho concluded that he would attract labor-intensive industries to the royal territory.

High-tech electric and electronic industries would only be profitable when technological manpower was secured, so the idea was to focus on self-sufficiency and domestic demand by making everyday items such as textile and clothing industries and shoe factories that would provide many jobs.

Typical labor-intensive industries were food and beverage manufacturing, textile manufacturing, clothing and fur products manufacturing, bags and shoes manufacturing, and furniture manufacturing. Fortunately, they were not polluter industries and did not require complex facilities. Nor it did require any special skills, so it would be a great job for Kurds in need of a job.

Although such industries were only prevalent in developing countries, it was a necessary part of everyday life and there was a possibility for such industries to create luxury brands.

“Eriksson. These are items that advanced countries are reluctant to produce. I hope we don’t get criticized for taking advantage of Kurds’ labor force.”

“Your Highness, what does it matter when you don’t use them to seek profits? We can’t give them a lot of money, but it’s important that they will be able to work. For many of them, this would be their first proper job. I’m sure being able to work and support their own family will be a great experience for them.”

People had been relying on relief goods and had not made money on their own. Eriksson was saying that everyone needed to experience what it felt like to make money on their own, even if their pay would not be great for now.

“And building proper education facilities is a priority. The community education and technical education should be centered around them as well. Camps should have amusement facilities, but schools should also have sports facilities to encourage children’s involvement in school naturally. And we also need to create Kurdish security forces and administrative organizations. Building and cultivating a new city with their own hands will make it easier for them to get accustomed to the new environment.”

“That could get out of control.”

“They cannot dream of such a thing. Their loyalty to the Kazakh royal family and Princess Jelyan is the best in Kazakhstan. They won’t disappoint you. Although they’re committing small and large crimes now, it’s just a process. They want to steal because they couldn’t own anything back in Syria. If they can make money and get involved in economic activities, it will go away naturally.”

Eriksson also did not give much meaning to crimes committed by the Kurds just like Youngho. It was just a transitional phenomenon that would naturally dissipate over time.

“Please calculate if we can pay the minimum cost of living for people when two people are doing one person’s job.”

“Your Highness, there’s nothing to pay for. We’ll recover the cost of establishing facilities and then we can pay people with that money. It will go well beyond the minimum wage.”

Although the intensive industry was said to be an industry of an underdeveloped country, it had been used by advanced companies as a way to take advantage of it in less developed countries. It was good for creating employment.

“Very well. Let’s build two light industry complexes on each side of the Ural River.”

“I’ll check out on the establishment of facilities. We have a lot of facilities in Europe right now.”

“Aren’t they all moved to India, Southeast Asia, and Africa?”

“There are also factories in Western Europe that produce a small number of high-end products.”

“Really? Well, then why don’t we also produce high-end products?”

“We can do that if we have people with great hand skills. The more products that need people’s handling, the more expensive they are.”