Chapter 686: New Settlers (2)
“Germany has accepted 500,000 refugees from around the world, and 300,000 have applied to go to Germany this year alone. There were only a few hundred thousand people who applied for Britain and France. That’s why the German government has drawn a line and said no more than 50,000 refugees.”
“Only Germany has been suffering in the meantime.”
“Prime Minister Merkel has been taking the lead in refugee issues, but he had no choice but to give up due to the opposition party’s aggressive resistance. So, other European countries will now have to share the refugees, but Britain has already declared to leave the European Union, so the rest of the European countries are in trouble.”
“Then we should not deal with the European Union, but negotiate with individual countries to see how much they can pay.”
“Right. I think we need to meet the needs of individual countries to make it easier for us to get support from the European Union.”
Youngho, who was looking at the data brought by Suh Min-seok, reached the final conclusion.
“Okay. Find out how much each individual country can pay, and then see if we can get EU-level assistance.”
“Your Highness, there’s a little problem. If we force the already settled refugees to move to our country, it could lead to a systematic protest.”
“That’s what each country has to deal with. And when they get here, they’ll realize quickly that it’s better than Europe.”
Syrian refugees who had settled in Europe had been treated like a nuisance.
Having no jobs available for them, they were also socially classified as a temporary criminal group. Even if they settled down in a stable manner, they knew that it was almost impossible to enter a mainstream society.
As Kazakhstan had no such high social barrier, Youngho thought that they would easily be attached to Kazakhstan.
“Distribute promotional materials for Kazakhstan and the royal family to every European country. If necessary, we can advertise on TV, too. That way, the refugees will be stirred and the Europeans will press the government to relocate the refugees to Kazakhstan.”
“The cost of getting on European television is very high. Your Highness.”
“We’ll recover our spendings soon. Each country will pay us at least two to three billion dollars easily.”
“Your Highness, there’s another problem. If we say we would only selectively accept Syrian refugees, there will be another opposition.”
“The place in the Middle East that pumps the most refugees is Syria. They should be thankful if we accept them since they’re exceeding 100,000 people already. What are they going to do if we don’t want refugees?”
Large numbers of refugees from a single country were also a social destabilizing factor, so countries were avoiding them, which was the case with Syrian refugees. It was out of control because it exceeded the proper size.
“Wouldn’t Syrian refugees show anti-social tendencies like other state refugees?”
“You are thinking too much. They didn’t leave Syria for religious oppression or political reasons, but because they escaped for fear of war and death, they are the ones who will adapt the fastest when life stabilizes. Besides, many Kazakh people are Muslims. The Syrian refugees won’t have any hindrance to be part of our society unlike in Europe.”
***
The French government had been mostly active in sending the Syrian refugees to Kazakhstan. It said it would pay 10,000 euros to the refugees for their settlement.
It was only a couple of months’ living expenses in European standards, but for refugees, it was a lot of money. If 10,000 people applied, the French government would lose as much as a hundred million euros, but it was not such a waste for France because it was the only way to reduce refugees.
It was a great temptation for refugees who were short of money, and to many of them, Kazakhstan was also an appealing place because life in Europe was too hard.
In particular, Syrians who moved to France on the grounds that they could speak the language were unable to endure the coldness of the locals.
No matter how much the world had changed, ethnic chauvinism once swayed Africa and the Middle East remained everywhere even though their ancestors’ past wrongdoings were part of the reason that made many Africans and Middle Eastern people current refugees.
Thus, many refugees would rather leave France than living in such humiliation every day.
“Germany said it would provide 2 billion euros and France announced it would provide 500 million euros to us.”
France reduced the amount provided to the Kazakh government on the grounds that it would pay 10,000 euros to each refugee.
“Is there no word from England, Belgium, Italy, etc yet?”
“The rest of the world is about to announce the amount of aid.”
If only Syrian refugees were dealt with, they could calm the worsening public opinion in their countries. This was the proof that there were so many Syrian refugees in Europe.
“They seem to be playing a mind game.”
“Most European countries, except Germany, are not very well off. No wonder they’re trying to pay less money.”
“If they don’t want to pay then we should let them do it on credit.”
“How can we call it a credit when it’s a free loan? If we do that for no reason, we may be mistaken that our royal family only seeks money.”
Suh Min-seok blushed and looked at Youngho as if he was suggesting a ridiculous condition. It would be embarrassing in a way to be seen as doing business against Europe, which had accepted refugees on humanitarian grounds.
“I’m going to keep their debt that way. Even if they can’t keep their promise, we’ll bring their daily necessities.”
It was a bit far-fetched, but Youngho could not just let them go free of charge just because their economic situation was not good.
“The refugees may misunderstand that our royal family made their move a business.”
“They’re being treated in Europe and they won’t have such a leisurely idea. Where does all that money go anyway? It’ll be used for their settlement. Don’t worry about useless things and notify the countries again. Tell them to come up with the number of refugees to be sent to Kazakhstan within 15 days.”
“Yes, sir.”
Britain, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Sweden also promised special loans based on the number of refugees.
The aid totaled four billion euros, which was more than expected, so the Kazakh government was having a hard time maintaining its poker face.
It was the amount of money European countries promised forcibly since they would have no choice if Kazakhstan changed its mind.
Either way, the number of Syrian refugees who were to move to Kazakhstan from Europe reached 210,000.
The total number of Syrian refugees that entered Europe was approaching 300,000, and two-thirds of them were coming to Kazakhstan.
There were not as many Syrian refugees in Europe as Youngho initially thought.
This was because Greece, which was the gateway to Europe, had effectively blocked Syrian refugees from entering Europe, so there had not been much inflow.
In fact, Lebanon, a neighboring country, was the one that received the most Syrian refugees as it had accepted 720,000 people to stay in refugee camps.
It was an unacceptable number for Lebanon’s economic situation, but this result was due to the failure to control the flood of refugees in the early stages. It had been able to sustain the high number of refugees only because of the aid from U.N. human rights groups.
Likewise, there were 460,000 people in Turkey, 510,000 in Jordan and some 100,000 in Egypt and Iraq, respectively.
The Syrians who crossed over to neighboring countries were determined to return to their home as soon as the civil war was over, so they did not leave for Europe or North America.
The first country to send Syrian refugees was France, which even promised individual settlements.
Immediately under mounting public pressure, the refugees were rushed to Kazakhstan, using ships to pass through the Black Sea and even chartered planes.
The Syrian refugees who flew in on chartered flights were those who had settled in Paris and had been working closely with the Parisian citizens and tourists. They were mainly engaged in 3D industries shunned by Parisians, such as doing chores at hotels and cleaning the cities and restaurants.
Syrian refugees who landed on the temporary runway of the royal territory’s International Airport, where finishing work was underway, were surprised several times.
The Syrians, who left the temporary immigration office, were surprised by the scorching hot weather, which felt like it would burn their skin, and were surprised at the mountainless great plains.
When would they ever have seen such a plain in Syria?
“What is the reaction of people who entered the temporary camps?”
“They were quite surprised. They couldn’t believe the temporary camps were built as assembly buildings, not tents.”
According to Kim Chun who observed the new Syrian refugees, they were very satisfied with the perfect temporary camps because they lived in tents even when they first arrived in France. Besides, they were amazed by the fact that the Kurds who had formerly migrated to the royal territory had already built houses and settled in less than a few years after they left Syria.
When they lived in Syria, they lived in small, shabby apartments, but now they had a four- or five-room detached houses. Besides, the Kurds’ bright faces gave them hope of life in Kazakhstan.
That was how life in Kazakhstan began, beginning with surprise and envy. It was not the Kazakhstan they knew.