African Entrepreneurship Record

February 14, 1917.

Basra Port.

Since the Baghdad Railway was fully opened, it has become the main artery of trade between East Africa and the Allies.

In Basra Port, as the railway extended here, the port also underwent a new round of transformation, but even the transformed Basra Port obviously could not meet the current busy business of Baghdad Railway.

Large cranes and suspension bridges continuously transported the cargo from the ship, and at the same time tens of thousands of dock workers gathered here to unload the bulk cargo from the ship.

Some important materials were loaded onto trains as soon as they were unloaded from the ship, and then went directly north along the railway line. Basra Port also gathered a large number of cars and ships to share the pressure of Baghdad Railway.

Even so, there are still a lot of goods that can only be temporarily stored in Basra's warehouses, including but not limited to food, cotton, munitions and other war materials.

In order to ensure the safety of this lifeline, the Ottoman Navy and the East African Navy are always cruising in the Persian Gulf region.

The main task of the Ottoman Navy was to prevent the British from attacking the port of Basra, and the East African Navy naturally operated in the name of escorting its own merchant ships.

The British Navy in the Persian Gulf could only be furious, just like East Africa facing the English Channel and the Suez Canal.

The British Navy in the Persian Gulf, or the colonies, obviously did not have the strong strength of the local navy to provoke the East African Indian Ocean Fleet, which was the home of the East African Navy.

I don't know when, in the port of Basra, a huge building complex rose from the ground. It doesn't look like a storage area or a residential area, but more like a military zone.

Carl looked at the Basra refugee camp, jumped off the truck, and came towards a team of Allied troops.

It can be seen that they are wearing Ottoman Army uniforms, but the leader is a German officer.

The German officer said happily after seeing the convoy of Karl and his party: "Mr. Karl, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Karl said familiarly: "Captain Dor, let's not talk about the past. What is the current situation of the Basra refugee camp?"

The German officer named Dor said: "There are more than 3,000 immigrants in Basra at present. Most of them are from Ukraine. All of them are young and strong, and women account for as much as 40%..."

It is not uncommon to see German officers in the port of Basra. After all, the Ottoman Empire is also a member of the Allied Powers, and there are many German instructors in the Ottoman Empire. Dor is one of them. He introduced the population situation in the refugee camp to Karl and other East Africans one by one.

East African "businessman" Carl said: "We will give them a physical examination and assess the price according to our standards."

Dor: "Of course there is no problem, but I still hope that Mr. Carl can show mercy. After all, we are under great pressure to support the daily operation of this refugee camp."

The so-called refugee camp is actually a den for selling stolen goods. After all, it is impossible for Europeans to set up a refugee camp in the Ottoman Empire on the coast of the Indian Ocean.

The towering walls, barbed wire, numerous watchtowers, and soldiers with live ammunition all show that this "refugee camp" is actually more like a concentration camp.

Carl said: "Of course, as long as you don't do anything, we will naturally not raise the threshold."

Dor assured: "We will definitely not adulterate. After all, in Europe today, human life is the least valuable thing. There are many refugees in the Allied occupied areas. We also transported them to Basra after careful selection. Except for some refugees who are not acclimatized, the physical fitness of others can definitely meet your needs."

Carl said: "Whether they are qualified or not still needs to be tested by our medical staff. After all, these refugees come from war zones, and since ancient times, diseases may occur in war zones. We obviously cannot afford such risks."

"We are also doing small business. After all, if there is a source of infection, the entire ship's cargo may be destroyed."

Hearing Carl's words, Dor's mouth twitched, and he complained in his heart, what a small business, from the Basra collection... Since the establishment of the refugee camp to today, Carl has bought more than 30,000 refugees from him!

However, Dole still said: "Mr. Carl, don't worry. If there is a real problem, it will happen in Basra. We have a complete response plan. Your worries are unnecessary."

Carl said: "Whether it is redundant or not will naturally be judged by our staff. Compared with you, I prefer to trust professional medical staff."

Then, the medical staff under Carl began to screen the refugees in the refugee camp, but the final result was still very satisfactory.

A medical staff wearing a mask and a white coat reported: "Boss, according to our tests and statistics, most of them are in good health, and only eighteen people have some minor problems."

Carl's public identity is the boss of a labor company, so the people below also call him that.

Carl asked: "What minor problems?"

The subordinates replied: "Thirteen of them have physical defects, and three have visual impairments. In addition, there are two who may not adapt to the climate and are in a bad mental state."

"Is the problem of physical defects big!" Carl asked.

The subordinate said: "There shouldn't be any big problems. According to our judgment, they are all skin injuries left in the war."

"In this case, except for the two who were acclimated, others began to distribute contracts to them, sign them, and press their fingerprints without knowing how to read."

Ukraine is an agricultural area of ​​Russia, especially Western Ukraine under the occupation of the Allies. The economy is underdeveloped and the illiteracy rate is naturally high.

To put it bluntly, 99% of those who can be sent to the Basra refugee camp are illiterate Russians who cannot even write their names.

Subsequently, under Karl's arrangement, one by one Ukrainians began to sign their names on the contract, or put their fingerprints on the contract.

As expected, most Ukrainians can't even write their names, so more than 90% of contracts have red fingerprints.

With the work proceeding in an orderly manner, Dole, who was waiting on the side, finally said: "Mr. Carl, now that these procedures have been completed, how about your payment?"

Karl said: "Sir Dole, don't worry, this is the agreement we have drawn up. You confirm it first. After both of us confirm it is correct, I will sign it. You can take this agreement and go to the second terminal of Basra Pier." Warehouse No. 103 is exchanging supplies.”

So Dole picked up the agreement that Carl had prepared and read it carefully. Then he frowned and said, "Mr. Carl, why is the price this time so much lower than last time?"

Karl explained: "We need more women. Women only account for 40% of the refugees this time. Naturally, it cannot be the same as last time. If you can provide more female refugees, then we can naturally provide a higher number." price.”

After hearing Karl's explanation, Dole's frown relaxed and he said, "Mr. Karl, don't worry, we will definitely provide more female refugees next time."

Karl emphasized: "Young, healthy female immigrants!"

For Dole, this was obviously just a small problem. He said categorically: "No problem, we can provide you with as many refugees as you want. People of all ages and situations are no problem."

Hearing this, Karl stretched out his hand with a smile and said: "Then I wish us happy cooperation in the future!"

"Happy cooperation!" Dole said, holding his hand.

After both sides confirmed that the information was accurate, Karl's men, with the help of Ottoman soldiers, successfully escorted the refugees to the vehicles.

Dole also took the "check" issued by East Africa and went to the warehouse built by the East African government in Basra to obtain supplies.

This was an immigration trade, in which the Allies exchanged Russians for various materials they needed from East Africa.