Chapter 1343 - 352: Choosing a Destination

Chapter 1343: Chapter 352: Choosing a Destination

To speak of East Africa along the entire Indian Ocean coast, it is notoriously infamous. On the one hand, East Africa’s colonial activities are indeed more brutal than those of traditional colonial powers like England and France. On the other hand, with the presence of the British megaphone, East Africa, in reality, gets no good reputation. Thankfully, East Africa is indeed no innocent flower.

The hegemony of a nation is composed of a combination of military, economic, public opinion, and other factors. For instance, in the previous era in the Middle East, Western countries committed murder and arson, theft of oil, stirred up conflicts, sold arms in large quantities, and overthrew legitimate governments, all in the name of promoting "democracy," safeguarding "human rights," and combating "extremism" and "terrorists."

As long as a country wasn’t under Western order, even if they conducted fair business with Middle Eastern nations, Western countries would go out of their way to smear them, saying, "Everyone in that country reeks of evil, this is economic colonialism."

Of course, the Middle East was also the incapable regime that couldn’t rise. Whatever hegemony propaganda is being pushed, they truly follow the hegemony’s baton.

And East Africa is clearly not the kind of country easily "morally manipulated," because during the rise of East Africa, there was no morality to begin with.

Learning from the strengths of others to control them, naturally, East Africa wouldn’t just sit and wait for competitors to "slander" and expose its faults. Over the years, East Africa has also controlled and developed its own voice in the Middle East to help wash its reputation and shift blame.

The essence of a public opinion war does not lie in explanation and self-justification, but in dragging competitors down. While of course, East Africa is guilty of many crimes, so too are you British, rotten to the core, with a centuries-long record of misdeeds that’s indescribable and irredeemable.

However, East Africa’s influence in the public opinion system of the Indian Ocean region is evidently hard to shake the early advantage of the United Kingdom.

Sevler, despite being a henchman cultivated by the East African government, finds a liking in Jasim’s good sense of timing.

"Mr. Jasim, do you know where you would choose to go if you left voluntarily?" Sevler asked.

Facing Sevler’s question, Jasim replied, "Our Sani family also has many friends across the Ottoman Empire and Oman. If need be, we could seek refuge with the Hashim Clan or the Saudi Clan."

Jasim naturally has his reasons for placing the Ottoman Empire and Oman at the forefront of his choices.

This is determined by Qatar’s culture, location, and economy.

Being an Arab country, Qatar is also a part of Arab trade relations. The Ottoman Empire was once the overlord of the Middle East, and Qatar was once part of the Ottoman rule, so it’s unsurprising that Jasim considers the Ottoman Empire as his first choice.

As for Oman, nowadays, especially along the Persian Gulf, the three significant powers are the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and Oman. Qataris undoubtedly cannot share a chamber pot with Persia, considering the vast differences in their religious sects.

Apart from these, the establishment of the Hijaz Kingdom by the Hashim Clan is also a good option; however, the Hijaz Kingdom is too close to East Africa and lacks strength, so it’s placed third by Jasim.

The final option, the Saudi Clan, would only be chosen if absolutely necessary because besides these four countries, the only remaining place on the Arabian Peninsula is Bahrain, which has the poorest relations with Qatar, and Bahrain is too small to potentially accommodate the Sani family.

After hearing Jasim’s ideas, Sevler patted this Arab chieftain on the shoulder and said, "Your idea is good, but in my opinion, your best choice with your tribe is Oman."

"Oman and the Empire are friendly nations, and we have no conflicts of interest. As for the other places you mentioned, the Ottoman Empire is now at war with the British, and I think they might not have the time or energy to take care of you if you wish to go there."

"As for Hijaz and Neizhi, these two countries are hostile towards each other and unstable, so Oman is the best place for you."

"East Africa and Oman have a good relationship and can act as mediators; that’s the first point. The second point is that Oman’s political environment is relatively stable; once there, you at least need not worry about being drawn into wars. The final point is that Oman has a better environment with the capacity to accommodate you."

"Of course, finally, I would still report your idea upwards, and the final decision on where your tribe would go rests with the government’s intentions."

Jasim quickly said, "We aren’t picky about places as long as it aligns with the general’s view. I swear in the name of Allah, as long as we safely leave, we will fully cooperate in handing over all of Qatar’s land completely to your country."

Upon hearing Sevler’s last words, Jasim almost had his heart leap out in fear. At this juncture, he just wants to ensure the safety of his whole family and avoid being fed to the fish in the Persian Gulf by the East Africans.

The tragic scene from the Beibu Gulf territory back in the day is still fresh in mind, so the Qatari chieftain is well aware that the Sani family has no room for bargaining.

Sevler said to Jasim, "Leave this matter to me. Regardless of the final result, I only guarantee to put forth my best effort to help you accomplish this matter, mainly because you seem agreeable to me..."

...

Three days later, Sevler tossed the ball back to the homeland, though he indeed spoke favorably for the Sani family, especially its leader Jasim, in the correspondence.

After reviewing the correspondence, Ernst mused, "This Jasim is indeed a talent worthy of showing leniency for being so sensible, but the periphery of the Persian Gulf is certainly not feasible, so let’s excommunicate them to Batavia!"

Admittedly, Batavia is not East African territory but the political center of the Dutch East Indies Colony, which is the previous capital of Indonesia, Jakarta in past lives.

Ernst is unwilling to place Qataris around the Persian Gulf since such a move could potentially stir territorial disputes in the future, and if the descendants of Qataris lay claims, it would be a latent threat.

The reason Batavia isn’t concerning is, firstly, because it is sufficiently far away, distance resolves many troubles. Secondly, Batavia is mainly Arabian Sect, ensuring that the Sani family or all Qataris would eventually be assimilated once they relocate there.

Assimilated Qataris would naturally find no excuses to return to Qatar, as by then, Qatar would merely be a relic of history.

Lastly, sending Qataris to Batavia also serves as a recompense, yes, a recompense. Even though the tropical rainforest climate area where Batavia resides is called "green desert," it surely surpasses a real desert.

Not to mention, the abundance of water alone there is enough for Qataris to feel they’ve hit the jackpot like mice falling into a rice jar.

From a god’s perspective, Qataris leaving Qatar is certainly a huge loss, given that Qatar’s oil resources would no longer be related to them.

However, during this era, Qatar’s oil resources happen not to have been developed, and Qataris are oblivious to the value of the "black gold" buried beneath their dwellings.

In past lives, it was the British who first discovered and developed Qatar’s oil resources, paving Qatar’s wealthy future. Now, that road has been cut off by East Africa.

Since Ernst made the decision, others naturally had no objections. Handling a population of merely around twenty thousand Qataris didn’t require much of East Africa’s effort, given that East Africa has organized much larger-scale migrations before.

By the end of 1918,

In Doha, the capital of erstwhile Qatar, various Qatari tribes, over thirteen thousand four hundred people from across Qatar, gathered by East Africa, boarded ships in batches heading for Batavia.

Only at this time did East Africa truly grasp the number of Qataris, as Qatar had no population statistics, not even a unified government, which led to East Africa overestimating Qatar’s population.