AN ANTI-REFUGEE MOVEMENT FINDS ITS LEADER IN CHARISMATIC BRODIE NOBLE.
By L.M.Taurus
7/9/0026UWC
48 hours before headline
Luan Dlamini took it upon himself to go to Toronto, Canada and see how the Haitian refugees were doing. Luan didn't have a specific assignment since he became world military leader and decided to roam around the world, experiencing other cultures.
Luan Dlamini was of South African descent and lived there until he joined the world military. When he graduated from the academy, he was assigned to Esme's squad and they moved up the ranks quite quickly. He was very close to his squadmates and it was no surprise they all clicked well.
The thing Luan loved the most of being a part of the world military was traveling the world. As a world military leader, this gave him more opportunities to travel wherever he wanted.
Luan walked down a busy street in his world military leader armor. Luan specialised as a spartan so his armor was bulky. Add to the fact Luan was six feet two inches, he looked like a force walking down the street.
Most people ignored him as he passed. Some would stop him and ask which member of the world military leaders he was. Some guessed it right. Some thought he was Cairo Zakaria. Luan was polite and entertained everyone.
The reason why some people in Canada didn't know who he was exactly was due to the fact that North America and a good portion of South America had lost the power to electricity during the great war almost three decades ago. That's the reason steam power was so big in this part of the world. This was the place you would find howlers as vehicles and airships in the sky. This place was like another world for Luan who grew up in South Africa.
Luan reached his destination, a shelter for the Haitian refugees who were relocated to Toronto. He entered the facility and for the first time since he arrived in Canada, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him.
"Hi everyone," he said.
A crowd formed around him. They greeted him, thanked him, and asked him multiple questions. He was overwhelmed when a woman came to his rescue.
"Okay, that's enough of all that," said the woman and everyone stopped. "Sir," she said to Luan. "You can follow me to my office." She led the way and Luan followed. Once they entered her office, she closed the door behind them. "What brings you to our shelter today Mr. Dlamini."
"You recognise me," said Luan.
"Of course I do. I like to know who are the people governing the world and who helped my people." She gestured to a chair. "Take a seat."
Luan took a seat and she sat behind her desk across from him. "You're Haitian?"
"I am. My name is Esterline. I'm one of the many refugees brought to this country."
"I don't know why I thought the person in charge of this shelter would be a Canadian."
"It was at first, but then they gave me the job since everyone respects me. Everything has been running a little more smoothly."
"As in, it wasn't before?"
"There were hiccups, but nothing we couldn't handle. We're safe here. What brings you here by the way?"
"This exactly," said Luan. "I wanted to see how the refugees were doing. I wanted to know if you guys were safe and being looked after."
"We're safe as long as we're here," answered Esterline.
"Are you insinuating you're not safe outside?"
"Depends where you go."
"Would you mind showing me one of those places?"
"I can, but it will have to be after work. Do you mind waiting?"
"Sure, I can help if you want."
"I can use a little help serving in the kitchen, but I don't think you can do that in your armor."
"Do you have anything I can change into?"
She looked him up and down again. "That's going to be hard. You're taller than everyone here. Just sit there," she said as she stood up. "I'll see if I can find something."
"I'm only going to need pants," he called out as she left. "I can work with my tank top," he said to himself.
After a minute, Esterline returned with some really puffy green pants. "See if these work?" she said as she held the pants up. The pants were almost taller than her.
"Did you skin that off the Grinch himself?" asked Luan.
"Huh?"
"It was a joke," said Luan as he took the pants. "I'll see if they fit."
Esterline left the room and Luan changed. The pants looked extra baggy on him, but they weren't long, so at least they didn't touch the floor. He left his armor in the corner of the room.
"You can come in."
Esterline entered. "Oh good, they fit."
"Is it alright if I leave my armor here?"
"Yeah, I'll lock the door."
Luan followed Esterline outside and she locked her office door. They went to the kitchen and prepped the food for the refugees. Once they were done, they served the food. Luan and Esterline spent the rest of the day working and cleaning until they were the only ones left in the shelter.
"Not bad," she said. "We finished before eight. We have plenty of time."
"Plenty of time for what and don't think I didn't realise you had me doing someone else's job."
Esterline locked up the large fridge in the kitchen. "At least it was an honest day's work. It's good to be reminded of what that looks like." She turned to look at Luan who had an annoyed look on his face. She laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Those pants and that look on your face. It's a funny combination." She walked past him and made her way to her office.
Luan followed. "You still haven't told me what we have plenty of time for," he said as she unlocked her office.
"You wanted to know how the refugees were doing. I'm going to show, but it has to be at a certain time." She went to her desk and pulled a veil out of her drawer. Luan went to his armor and was about to start putting it on. "I wouldn't do that."
"Excuse me?"
Esterline was in front of her mirror, using the veil to cover her hair. "What I'm going to show you is going to need you to be lowkey and that armor is not."
"Is that why you're wearing a hijab?"
"Yes and no," she answered as she finished. "I'm actually Muslim, but it also helps me blend in with the people around the city. No one actually believes I'm a refugee. Most Haitians are Christians."
"Why do you want to hide that you're a refugee?"
"That's what I'm going to show you."
Esterline and Luan left the shelter and walked a couple of blocks north. It was about a fifteen minute walk to their destination. They arrived at a park where there was a large group gathered.
"What is this?" asked Luan.
"Just listen," answered Esterline.
They walked deeper into the crowd until they were in the middle and could see a podium up ahead. At the podium stood a well dressed man. The crowd cheered for him as he waved.
"Who is that?" asked Luan.
"Brodie Noble."
Brodie Noble gestured for the crowd to lower their voices. "Hello my friends," he started. "I see the word is starting to get out. This has to be the biggest crowd I've seen yet. The world military might want to shame us into helping our fellow man, but at what cost? Sure, the Haitians are going through a hard time, excuse me, we're going through a hard time. They're really not anymore and that's because we're now providing for their way of life at the cost of our hard work. They're brought into our country, provided with everything they need except for a job. No, that's the part we play. We work, they raise our taxes and the cost of living goes up. The only thing that doesn't go up is our pay. No, that stays the same. So now we're making less money while the refugees are getting everything free. Is that fair?"
The crowd screamed "No!" Luan was startled by their unison.
"That's because it's not fair," said Brodie. "Have you seen the nice house they've been provided with while we can't even afford to fix our own. And don't think this is only a Canadian problem. It's happening all around the world. Haitian have been provided shelter at the cost of the people already living there. They take and take and take and give nothing back. If they were at least being decent members of society, maybe we wouldn't mind helping. But all they do is trash the neighborhoods."
"Send them back," yelled someone from the crowd.
"No wonder their country falls apart when a storm hits," said Brodie Noble. "If they can't even take care of their homes, why should we help? I heard a world military leader is in town today. I say we go out there and find him. Let's ask him these questions and see what he has to say for himself."
"I've heard enough," said Luan to Esterline. "Let's get out of here."
Luan and Esterline got out of there and made their way back to the shelter. She observed him carefully. Luan was clearly deep in thought.
"It's not fair what he said," said Esterline, snapping Luan out of his thoughts. "The reason most of my people aren't working is because we can't find any work. Most jobs around here want us to speak English, but most of the refugees can't."
"Trashing the neighborhoods?"
"A small minority," answered Esterline. "There's bad eggs in every society, but that guy wants you to think it's all us. That's another reason we can't find jobs as well. Brodie Noble is turning the people so against us, they don't even want to hire us for jobs even if we could speak their language."
"Regardless," said Luan. "This is something we're going to have to deal with."
"Okay but remember, the reason we're here is because we lost everything. My people are still grieving while also trying to adapt. This way of life is new to us as well."
"I know, but I'm not sure how we're going to get these people to listen."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out. That's why you're the leader."