Ghassan
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| Motto: He who speaks to your face is not a traitor. | |||||
| National Anthem: Battle Symphony of the Republic | |||||
| Region | The Spanish Republic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | Al-Harith | ||||
| Official Language(s) | Ghassani (Traditional), Ghassani (Arabic), English | ||||
| Leader | Dominic Cremona- Procounsel of the Ghassan Colony
Emir Khameh Yasiri- Emirate of the Islamic Republic of Ghassan | ||||
| Population | 10,020,763 | ||||
| Currency | 1 Ruya = 3,507 Dollars | ||||
| NS Sunset XML | |||||
The Islamic Republic Colony of Ghassan, is a small, devout nation found in Asia Minor. The country is underdeveloped and impoverished, and is gripping with a guerilla movement in its northernmost province. The people predominatly live in the south and west and are Muslim, although many of the northern regions prefer to remain tribal. The central province is known for being a desolate desert, while the west and south are known for their tourist attractions and natural resources.
Geography
Climate: In the northern region, the climate is arid and dry, with almost complete humidity. The temperatures are blistering in the day, and usually are at around fifty degrees Celsius, but the temperatures drop severely in the night to around twenty degrees. The southeast is known for its temperate beaches, which are understandable cooled by coastline wind currents. The southwest is a mild delta which is known for its cities and dense populations.
Natural Resources: Natural gas reserves, petroleum, coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone, copper, sulfur, zinc, various deposits of stones.
Other Resources: Extensive agricultural areas in the south, which harvest a variety of fruits that include pears, grapes, and other desert fruits. Grains and cereals are also grown here, which are then shipped to the areas that are in need of food because of poor harvesting.
Natural Hazards: Frequent earthquakes, flooding after heavy rain seasons, scorching desert temperatures and sand storms.
Regions: Geographically, the country of Ghassan is divided into four regions, each with their own geography and political atmospheres. The people in each of these regions are just as diverse.
•The Southern Coast- The southern coast is known as a popular destination for tourists and Ghassan traveling personnel. It is a place where the modesty of the Islamic culture clashes with the extremities of Western fashion. Its beaches are vast and filled with resorts and expensive cuisines. It is a place where most Ghassan could never dream of visiting though.
•The Basir Desert- The central region of the country, which is mainly filled with nomads and small pools of water. This region is isolated and hazardous, and only experienced Ghassani dare traverse it. The temperatures here are unbearable, and the humidity will rip through anyone. This is why there are barely any people living in this region.
•The Outlying Areas- This is the arc that surrounds the Basir Desert on the eastern and northern sides of it. These regions are mainly poor, tribal areas, where strict Islamic law is enforced. These regions are extremely impoverished and a poster-child for human rights violations. It is also here that the main colony-resistance takes place. These places are notable for their twisting ravines and cutting mountain passes, which are almost impassable without Ghassani guides.
•The Al-Harith Bay- Comparable to the coastlines, the bay itself is massive enough to house the entire navy. It was here that in the early 1970s that the petroleum was first discovered, setting off an explosive journey to finding the rest. The capital of Al-Harith is an ancient Islamic pilgrimage site, and it houses one of the largest Islamic populations outside of the Middle East. The cities here are largely developed, although each is filled with so many homeless and poor persons, that it is impossible to ignore. It is also here that the government’s headquarters can be found. The population here only makes up a small minority though, as the majority of the people live in the tribal, poor regions.
These four districts also make up the four political parties that are found within the country, although politics are almost unanimously completed by the Al-Harith Bay politicians.
Government
As a theocratic nation that is under colony status, the government is very unique in certain standards. It is led by a Proconsul, who oversees everything that is decided upon by the two assemblies of the nation. Beside the Proconsul is the Emir Khameh Yasiri, who works with the Proconsul to ensure that the nation upholds its Islamic standards and enforces the laws of Sharia. The Islamic law was first introduced after the Ghassani Islamic Revolution during the early 1980s. The British Londinium assumed power over their new colony in 2012.
Ghassan, therefore, has no formal constitution, as it swears loyalty to the British Londinium constitution, although its Sharia laws can account for what would be its foundation. Stated previously, the government is divided into two assemblies, the Royal Assembly and the House of Harith. Each has their own separate duties, although the two convene every Sunday at the Imperial Parliament to discuss matters that involve both. The Royal Assembly is made up of officials from British Londinium. For the ten provinces of the nation, each is granted three representatives to the Ghassani government. These three hundred officials have moved from their homes to Ghassan, to manage the recreation of the economy and the infrastructure of the country. Their dealings manage with this operation, and everything it entails. They also deal with the few security forces that are located there and the training of Ghassani military forces.
The House of Harith is made up of two hundred members, which are elected across the country. One hundred and eleven current members come from the Al-Harith Bay area, with seventy nine members coming from the Southern Coast. The last ten members arrived from the Outlying Areas, with the guerilla leader holding one of these ten. His seat though, remains vacant, as he would be assassinated if he showed up. The House of Harith deals with issues pertaining to the Islamic law and its upholding, and any issue that deals with purely Ghassani affairs. This means that they only supervise things that the British Londinium officials are not involved in. They do get a say in the affairs they don’t manage, and can veto Londinium decisions with a 2/3 vote at the Sunday gathering.
The judiciary system in the country is currently splintered, and it is one of the chief concerns for the incoming colonizers. Previously, judiciary decisions were determined by the two parties involved, with a mediator being sent if need be. For supreme decisions, the House of Harith would become involved, although those cases usually ended in an execution. Punishments for crimes were very Hammurabi-like. Punishments usually fit the crime and were brutal and sadistic.
Current Ghassani Officials-
Dominic Cremona, Proconsul of the Ghassan Colony Emir Khameh Yasiri, Emirate Official of the Islamic Republic of Ghassan
Economy
Overview: The economy of Ghassan is struggling to say the least. As the country is destitute, underdeveloped, and constantly wrought with bloodshed, there is little chance for the economy to boom. However, with the recent arrival of British Londinium, their policies have started to see a growth in certain sectors. This, coupled with international assistance, has allowed Ghassan to see a solid macroeconomic recovery in the last decade. With poverty decreasing at a rate not seen since the revolution, the biggest threat to the full recovery of Ghassan is the tribal feuding in the north and the frequent disasters that strike this same area.
As with most countries, the petroleum industry in Ghassan remains steady and bolstered. As Ghassan’s chief exported product, it remains the source of the majority of its income. As more deposits are discovered, and the need for petroleum increases, a dependence on Ghassan’s precious resource may allow for an economic paradise. The remaining question though, is how the money gained from petroleum sales is distributed to the lower classes.
Other major industries in Ghassan include arms manufacturing, and agricultural products. The arms manufacturing industry is largely dominated by expatriates who utilize the labor force of Ghassan. The agricultural industry on the other hand, is administered mainly by Ghassani farmers. The labor force itself numbers at almost the population, as one of the cornerstones of Ghassan’s economy rests on the fact that any able-bodied person works. And while it may come into context for human rights watchers, the use of child labor by Ghassan is strictly beneficial, and the rights for these workers outstrip any other.
Energy: As stated previously, the country’s dependence on the export of petroleum is absolutely necessary. The exportation of petroleum accounts for sixty-percent of the economy, with its main purchasers being Western countries. The country itself depends mainly on alternative energy sources, as it chooses not to keep any of its petroleum sources. Because of this, the country often finds itself at the mercy of power outages and energy shortages.
The only petroleum that is used by the Ghassani people is that used by automobiles, which are commonplace among the cities and surrounding areas, but often shunned by the more primitive peoples of the east and the north. Therefore, the burning of fossil fuels in limited from Ghassan, although with the rises in population, it will only become higher and higher. The petroleum industry is dominated by one company, which is run and funded by the central government. The Ghassan-Petrol, or GP, as it is referred to, deals with all matters of petroleum distribution, whether it be in Ghassan, or abroad.
Arms Manufacturing: Unlike the other two industries, the arms manufacturing industry is small and privatized, filled with hundreds of vying companies and their subsidiaries. The main focus of this industry is harvesting the limited resources of metal and turning them into casings and shells for weapons.
Agriculture: The majority of the land around the Al-Harith Bay is suitable for agricultural purposes, which is utilized. This area was first realized for such purposes when agriculture was first developed, and it has remained an area of high productivity up to the present years. The main harvests are grains and cereals, which are then packaged in adjoining facilities and shipped towards the regions that they are needed in. Ghassan relies on barely any imported food, although many of its fruits are exported to other countries.
The agricultural sector is also dominated by a single company, known as Ghassani Foodstuffs Inc., a privatized company that is owned by one of the richest men in the country. He revolutionized the farming industry by creating a standardized irrigation system that brings water from nearby lakes to the farms and orchards of the region. It was because of this that he earned his monopoly on the industry, allowing him to effectively produce one of the largest private enterprises in the country.
Besides the grains that are produced in the area, the Al-Harith Bay is world-renowned for its specialty fruits. The Ghassani Pear is one of the most savoring tastes for any Ghassani, and that has transferred over into the rest of the world. The exports for this fruit alone are becoming increasingly large.
Communications:
Telephones:
Main Lines in Use: 5,167,023 Mobile Cellular: 10,010,205 Mobile Satellite: Data Unavailable
Radio: The government runs the radio and television systems firmly. The radio is run through a central office, which relays its messages through hubs located in the country. The radio is defiantly the highest owned product by Ghassani families, including in the areas of the north and east. The government has a total of three hundred channels, ranging from news broadcasts, to musical selections, and international speakers. While many of these are censored and changed to fit certain standards, the radio is an important tool in the country.
Television: The television industry, as small as it may be, is also run by a subsidiary of the Ghassani government. There are only around one hundred channels accessible to most of the television owners, which only number in the low millions. Only about one sixth of the population own a television set, and the majority of these are shared between families. The television channels range from sports and news, to children’s shows and dramas. Each of these heavily enforces Islamic thinking and support for the government.
With the recent Londinium colonization, the television has received an overhaul, adding around another hundred channels for the Londinium staff that is now in Ghassan. The television now features these international channels, although they are only accessible in a very small number of places.
Internet: Internet lines and connections can mainly be found in the south and the west, and it is used predominantly by Ghassani businessmen and foreigners. This means that there is a high dependence on internet cafés, rather than personal computers. There are also designated business centers that allow the users to access the internet. The internet itself though, is highly criticized by the newspapers and the government as being blasphemous to Islam and critical of the Ghassani regime.
Printed Communications: The newspapers, like all the other media, are run by the government and the Londinium officials. It enforces Islamic thinking, colonization, and the progress that the new government is making. The main newspaper, The Ghassani Tribune, is circulated throughout the country and is the main periodical. Other newspapers feature more outlandish thinking, and are subsequently banned from printing and distribution.
Magazines from across the globe also find their home in Ghassan, although the majority of them are from Arab countries. The few Westerner magazines are privately shipped to homes owned by foreigners and are encouraged not to be further passed along.
