African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1274 Merchants of Basra
1917 2 Month 14 Day.

Port of Basra.

Since the Baghdad Railway was completed, this place has become the main artery of trade between East Africa and the Allies.

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

Large cranes and suspension bridges continuously move cargo off the ship, while tens of thousands of dock workers gather here to unload bulk cargo from the ship.

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

Even so, there are still a large number of goods that can only be temporarily stored in warehouses in Basra, including but not limited to food, cotton, arms and other war supplies.

In order to ensure the safety of this lifeline, the Ottoman Navy and the East African Navy cruised in the Persian Gulf region at all times.

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 surrounding area under the name of escorting its own merchant ships.

The British Navy in the Persian Gulf could only rage helplessly, just as it did in 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 strength of the local navy to provoke the East African Indian Ocean Fleet. The Indian Ocean was the home ground of the East African Navy.

I don't know when, but a huge building complex rose from the ground in the Port of Basra. 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 out of the truck, and faced a group of Allied troops.

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

When the German officer saw Karl's convoy, he said happily: "Mr. Karl, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Carl said familiarly, "Captain Dole, let's not talk about the past for now. What is the current situation in the Basra refugee camp?"

A German officer named Dole said: "There are currently more than 3,000 immigrants in Basra, most of whom are from Ukraine. All of them are young and strong, and women account for as much as 40%..."

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

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

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

The so-called refugee camp was actually a place to sell stolen goods. After all, it was 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 armed with live ammunition all indicate that this "refugee camp" is actually more like a concentration camp.

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

Dor assured, "We will definitely not adulterate. After all, human life is the least valuable thing in Europe today. 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 diseases have been possible in war zones since ancient times. We obviously cannot afford such a risk."

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

Hearing what Carl said, the corners of Dole's mouth twitched, and he complained in his heart, what a small business, from Basra... 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 problem, it will happen in Basra. We have a complete response plan. Your worries are unnecessary."

Carl said: "Whether it is excessive 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 member wearing a mask and a white coat reported: "Boss, according to our tests and statistics, the vast majority of them are in good health, and only eighteen have some minor problems."

Karl's official identity is the boss of a labor service company, so his subordinates also call him that.

Carl asked, "What little problem?"

The subordinate replied: "Among them, thirteen have physical disabilities, three have visual impairments, and two others may not be able to adapt to the local climate and are in a bad mental state."

"Is physical defect a big problem?" Carl asked.

The subordinate said: "It shouldn't be a big problem. According to our judgment, these are just some superficial injuries left over from the war."

"In that case, except for the two who were not used to the local climate, everyone else began to distribute contracts to them, asking them to sign and those who could not read to put their fingerprints on them."

The Ukrainian region belongs to Russia's agricultural area, 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 percent of those sent to the Basra refugee camp were Russian illiterates who could not even write their names.

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

As expected, most Ukrainians cannot even write their names, so more than 90% of the contracts are stamped with red fingerprints.

As the work proceeded in an orderly manner, Doerr, who was waiting on the side, finally said, "Mr. Karl, now that these procedures have been completed, how about your payment for the goods?"

Carl said, "Captain Dole, rest assured. This is the agreement we have drafted. Please confirm it first. After both of us confirm that it is correct, I will sign it. You can take this agreement to the No. 203 warehouse at the Basra terminal to exchange for supplies."

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

Carl explained: "We need more women. Women only account for 40% of the refugees this time. Naturally, it is impossible to be the same as last time. If you can provide more female refugees, then we can naturally give a higher price."

After hearing Carl's explanation, Dole's frown relaxed. He said, "Don't worry, Mr. Carl. Next time, we will definitely provide more female refugees."

Carl emphasized: "They are young, healthy female immigrants!"

This was obviously just a small problem for Dole. He said firmly: "No problem. We can provide you with as many refugees as you want. All ages and situations are no problem."

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

"It's a pleasure working with you!" Dole said, shaking his hand.

After both parties confirmed that the information was accurate, with the help of Ottoman soldiers, Karl's men successfully escorted the refugees onto 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 used the Russians to exchange for the various supplies they needed from East Africa.

(End of this chapter)