Refugee Thoughts...

Janne Kemppi

One of the most enduring images of war is a refugee, a person trying to escape the ravages of war. Refugees are simply displaced people, who have been forced (due actual or imagined) reason to flee from their normal place of living. Since armies have seldom time (nor at times even interest) to fully evacuate people from fighting zone, they have to act on their own, collecting whatever they can and trying to run away from the fighting.

During the War of the Alliance Earth forces (CEF) invaded Terra Nova. The war soon engulfed entire planet. Refugee problem was especially bad in Badlands, where numerous cities (such as New Kiev) were destroyed as reparations to guerilla strikes. Conventional fighting also completely destroyed city-state of Baja. The survivors from both disasters were forced to flee for their lives.

Much less well-known, yet certainly no less dreadfull occurrences were scorced earth policies of both sides where they destroyed everything that could be of military use (such as buildings) as they retreated. Widespread use of mines and weapons of mass destruction that poisoned ground making areas wasteland and forcing people to flee for their lives.

Fledging (and almost nothing more than a nuisance) guerilla actions carried out by various Rover bandit groups and equally harsh reprisals carried out by CEF did little to endear people to war. Terra Novan militaries also often resorted to local acquisition to keep their militaries functional. Essentially they plundered everything and forcedly recruited soldiers whenever necessary (possible). Finally the liberated areas were combed for collaborators (many of whom had helped CEF just to survive) and those found (or imagined) guilty were sentenced (this was often torture to death).

Refugee's lot was made even more difficult by the fact thatlife in war time was generally harsh and many communities simply closed their gates from pleas and let refugees fend by themselves. This created a bourgenoing and illegal business of smugling supplies to refugees (and sold at inflated prices) as well as smuggling people into communities for safety (along with false identifications). Penalties for such crimes were especially harsh and corruption allowing it to happen nothing short of legendary.

Eventually most refugees found themselves a place to stay (or died or simply withered away). Polar regions, where some kind of law and order was maintained, assembled survivors to cities that had been liberated or whose siege had been lifted to repopulate them. Naturally everyone coming in was screened (at least in theory as many had no papers or proof who they are). The quality of repopulation waried from non-existant (Emirates) to haphazard (Western Frontier) to planned (Humanist Alliance) with wide majority of individual efforts somewhere in the middle. In Badlands, population gathered to Peace River (where Paxton only allowed those qualified enough), West Base (where CEF housed most of the population uprooted due fighting or its own actions) and Baja (that allowed everyone come in). Baja's destruction later caused most survivors to scatter around Terra Nova with surprisingly most ending in West Base.

War of the Alliance finally ended with CEF retreating off Terra Nova. Battles thus died out eventually and armies were demobilized to peace time status. More effort was then put into resettlement of refugees, especially on each country's internal refugees. Situation remained very bad for those coming from other countries. Many of these were transported back to their own countries although those without any (or just shunned by everyone) pretty much settled for West Base (that was soon renamed Port Arthur by its new military dictator, Colonel Arthur) for the rest of their lives. Refugees and their treatment still remained a sore point to many Terra Novans and whenever remembrance for the War of the Alliance comes, these memories are simply not talked or remebered or mentioned, some wounds just remain too deep...

Another Day, another Nightmare

Variants

1. Soldiers are CEF looking for guerillas. They ask a lot of nosy questions, search everything very throughoutly and are highly suspicious in general. Every piece of weaponry and missing paper must have a very good explonation or it'll mean immediate arrest...
2. Soldiers are Terra Novans looking for CEF. They ask a lot of questions and are extremely angry at cowardly refugees who do not fight CEF. Everyone should have a very good explanation of where they come from and why they are running away. As a matter of fact everyone of military age (ie. older than toddler) could be immeditely pressed to service...
3. Soldiers are actually Rovers working nowadays as heroic Terra Novan resistance fighters and clever patriotic guerillas. However, old habits die hard and pretty much evryone knows these guerillas have unofficial license to rape'n'burn their way through Badlands, especially if they meet "enemy collaborators", such as anyone weaker than they are...
4. Soldiers are actually some kind of special operations group doing something very hush-hush. They do not like other people who see what they are doing. This group might just run away or decide to kill all witnesses. Furthermore, no one seems to have any idea who they are on the first place...
5. Soldiers are actually a group of Terra Novan stragglers who are running away from CEF. They are demoralized and scared and not in a mood for any kind of fighting. At the same time they need (and are ready to take) anything they deem necessary, without problems if necessary...
6. Soldiers are actually another group of refugees (some scouts?!) who are also trying to survive yet another day. The question comes, will two groups combine their meager resources, or move separate wyas or slug it out, just like the rest of the Terra Nova in much smaller scale...

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