Memory of the Fire Campaign
Memory of the Fire Campaign (Shinasthana: 念大燔火政, nem-lats-par-mer-tingh) was a campaign launched by the City of Kien-k'ang in 1963 through 1970 to mollify the attitude of the city's denizens towards the enormous amounts of refugees escaping Menghe following a Communist takeover in that country. The campaign eponymously asked the city to remember the love, courage, and accommodation that they exhibited after the Great Fire from 1894 – 96, as the refugees from both disasters were settled temporarily on public parks and gardened avenues, obstructing their aesthetic value. The city drew extensively from the experience of the Great Fire, which left an estimated 120,000 people homeless, for the protection and assistance of refugees.
Incidentally, the public parks and gardened avenues were also taken over during the Pan-Septentrion War, first for public shelter and then for the temporary accommodation of war veterans who lost their homes, indeed up to 1958; however, the government decided against mentioning this more recent fact as it was tainted by political lethargy and general criticism, whereas similar measures undertaken after the Great Fire far more romanticized in public discourse.
Free Trading Market
From the experience of the fire, the city deemed it of prime urgency to give an income to people who lost their homes as soon as practicable, even before a permanent settlement for them could be found. Even if the income was somehow at public expense, income earners could shop for themselves rather than rely on goods deliveries. If they shopped at stores owned by natives, some of the government money would in effect be subsidies for native stores taking business from refugees, and if they shopped with other refugees (which was more likely), then a local economy was created. Allowing a local economy to develop was considered absolutely necessary to reduce reliance on civic charity and the armed forces, whose reservists were summoned to service the ballooning immigrant camps. At the high point in mid-1965, up to 40,000 volunteers appeared on a daily basis to maintain basic amenities for refugees in the city; many were part-time volunteers contributing with their off-hours to the relief effort.
On Mar. 5, 1963, Parliament suspended the rule against foreigners engaging in trade in Themiclesia, instead authorizing the Government to license the same as it deemed fit up to Jan. 1, 1966; this time limit was extended to Jan. 1, 1969 afterwards. Thus, the Government was able to issue licenses to skilled craftsmen like cobblers so that they could engage in the local economy almost as soon as they arrived and exactly where they were accommodated. This was particularly useful for those who were able to bring the tools of the trade with them but were concerned if they would be permitted to engage in the same trade locally. It is thought that this policy could have alleviated one sixth of the refugee pressure for immediate income, since such craftsmen could also look after their households at the same time.
As expected, the policy generated controversy amongst domestic trade guilds, of which such newcomers were not paying members. However, the city was able to suppress this controversy first by implying the trade guilds failed in 1894 to support its members during a time of great distress, and then by introducing the immigrants to the guilds after their trades were established. More controversy was generated when a few private charities, possibly at the instigation of the city itself, printed maps to the refugee areas to identify what trade was being engaged where, for the convenience of locals who wishes to visit the Free Trading Market. But if the city was indeed involved, then the trading guilds were unable to identify the responsible councillor.
Assistance from Menghean immigrant societies
At the time of the refugees' arrival, there were two large associations that worked to advance interests of persons of Menghean origin—the Namyan Society (founded in 1885) and the Haedong Benevolence Association (1889). They corresponded to the two major states that existed on what is today Menghe and served informal liaison functions with their respective governments until diplomatic channels were opened later that century. The two societies were separate because the two states were hostile to each other, and expatriots generally refused to recognize or assist each other, and outbreaks of violence between them were originally common in the Easterners' Quarter in Kien-k'ang, Rak, and Qpa. By 1936, however, differences were suspended under the joint "Statement of Allegiance" (also co-signed by the Dayashinese Lobby Association) published to assure the public that the organizations were aligned with the Themiclesian government in face of the Menghean invasion.