Chapter 56 Refugees at the Border

The border between Austria Empire and Ottoman Empire

In the tense border between the two powers in the Balkans, a large number of refugees are pouring across the border between the Austrian and the Ottoman Empires. Women, children and the elderly are walking barefoot and all are hungry, tired, and haggard from the long travel but happiness and relief filled their faces as soon they reached the border.

There are no Ottoman soldiers in sight as the officials of the Ottoman Empire want these people out of the empire. They had deemed these groups of people as a threat and unstable factor to the Ottoman Empire's security and which is pursuing the Ottomanization of all ethnicities inside their borders. The Ottomanization of the Balkans caused hundreds of thousands of death to the people in the Balkans who are not Ottoman Turks.

The Ottomans think that it would be better if these people are either dead or left the Ottoman territory. It would be easier to assimilate if there are more Ottoman Turks in the empire even at the expense of bloodshed and a shrinking population. There would be fewer problems if these minorities would leave on their own, the Ottomans can save energy, resources, and bullets that should be mobilized for these people. If there is someone who is feeling the growing pressure and problem, it would be the Austrians who are receiving these people at the border.

The Austrian soldiers and officers on the border are in a crisis on how to handle this large surge of people coming inside the empire. The border has become a large refugee camp for the people fleeing from Ottoman tyranny and the food and supplies from the government have still not arrived. The situation has become direr as time passes due to the increasing number of people coming. Many of the soldiers who are at the border are recruits who are in training in different military camps across the Austrian Empire.

"Sir what would we do with these people sir? We are running out of food and tents in here."

"Tell the people to conserve the food and supplies we had given to them. We are still waiting for orders from Vienna. Just prepare to close the border if there will still be no orders from the government to arrive today."

The Austrian commander in the border is forced to close the border tomorrow if there are still no orders and supplies to arrive. New Year's day is coming but the supplies and food that the border have is already lacking even for the soldiers and recruits on the border. Even the border command is barely hanging because they have already given the supplies and food that the military has stock in the region.

The fast changes happening across the world can be felt by the Austrian officer at the border. This year was very significant as a lot of changes and development is happening in the Austrian Empire and the rapid deterioration of the relationship between the Ottomans and the Austrians. As an officer on the border, the pressure has increase tenfolds as more and more border skirmishes have happened in the past few weeks as the Ottomans are trying to secretly cross the border.

Some recruits are even sent to the frontlines to repel such crossing. The border has already started an undeclared conflict between the two powers and only this time has it decreased when there are more and more refugees are pouring in. It should be a piece of good news for the Austrian border army that the Ottoman excursion in the border has lessened, but the surge of refugees become a new pressing problem for them. Before there are tens of thousands of refugees across the border but now it had grow to alarming hundreds of thousands of refugees.

"Sir, a telegram message has arrived from Vienna."

"Give that to me."

A soldier has entered the military office of the Austrian commander stationed in this region bringing the content of a telegram message from the capital, Vienna. The Austrian Commander immediately read the content hoping that a solution was created for this crisis at the border. He can't handle anymore the rapid surge of refugees at the border and if the Austrian government can't provide a solution or relief then he would be forced to enact harsher rules and orders to the refugees and even might close the border in the meantime.

"Thank God, the government relief would arrive tomorrow."

"Is it good news Commander?"

"Yes…"

The Austrian Commander feels relieved and happy after he reads the content of the message. It is the first good news he received these days when tensions at the border are high. The soldiers around him notice that the Commander is happy so the content might be good news also for them. They have already suffered for days for smaller rations per day and they hope that it would end soon.

In the message, the Austrian Government is sending additional supplies and relief to the border for the needs of the refugees until a long solution could be formulated in Vienna for this crisis. Also, the Russian Empire is willing to accept refugees, especially those who are ethnically Slavic and want to live in the Russian Empire. The Ottoman Turks thoroughly made sure that the refugees have nothing to return back to the Balkans – burning houses, crops, and all the properties of these people.

Many people see this action by the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire as foolish as it means to destroy its own national power by evicting and killing any people who are not ethnically Ottoman Turks in the Empire. But some officers and officials in the ranks of other countries understand the purpose of such action in the long term and the time is ripe to do such action because the Ottoman Empire is at its strongest while the neighbors are not.

"Tell the recruits to double the rations for all the soldiers and refugees alike. The supplies and food from the Austrian Government would arrive tomorrow so we had no need to ration our supplies right now. In the message, they said that we had no need to limit our rations as the supplies would arrive every week. Praise God on how the Government was able to procure such supply."

After hearing such an order, the soldiers rejoiced as it had been days since they have enough food to fill their stomachs. Even during Christmas, they have ration themselves in order for everyone in the area to be fed. The locals nearby even provide and donate some food and clothing for the refugees as the Austrian Government would not allow the refugees to leave in order to check whether they are really refugees and not spies and saboteurs sent by the Ottomans.

Also, the Austrian Empire would not allow more people to immigrate into the Empire as it would imbalance the population if more non-German people would be part of it. In the Austrian Empire, only 30% of its population was ethnically german and the assimilated are only 35% of the population even after the decades of Austrianization of the Empire under the current emperor. There are still 35% of the population who are not Germanized or Austrianized of which 20% of them are Hungarian and the rest of Polish, Italian or Slavic descent.

The Austrian Empire can only absorb those who are loyal and culturally German or Austrian or at the very least fluent in the German language. This is the criteria the current Austrian Emperor had decreed regarding the immigration policy of the Austrian Empire.

The Austrian soldiers immediately spread the good news of the message to the people around – to other soldiers and refugees alike. The people feel relieved and thankful that the Austrian Empire would not abandon them and close the border for their fellow refugees who are still fleeing from the Ottoman Empire.

The fear that the Austrians would deport all the refugees back to the Ottoman Empire disappear. Women and children cry and dance in joy while the men are celebrating and singing. The expressions and faces of the people are full of happiness and relief that it seems everything that had happened to them is just an illusion.

But not everyone is happy with such a joyous announcement. Some are still seething in rage and want to take revenge against the Ottomans, and they know it won't be long before their revenge would happened. They can sense that the Austrians and the Ottomans would be soon at war with each other.

And many of them are hoping that they could participate even if they are serving under the banners and command of the Austrian Army, as long their thirst for revenge could be quenched. Blood could only be repaid with blood and they are hoping that the Austrians would be able to give them their desire for revenge. If not, then they are willing to make deals even with the devil just to have their revenge.