The Jelbanian Purple Stripe is the largest and oldest media outlet in Jelbania. It is written primarily to a foreign and Settled
(Jeztaghényr) Jelbék audience and is often the most critical of traditional Jelbicism.7 March 4440
As remittances drop, many turn to unsavory employment and crime; Jelbek
government turns to Vanuku and Deltaria for aidJelbek workers have had little luck maintaining overseas employment as foreign governments attempt to slow spread of "Jelbanian Syphilis"BRNFIÀSRL, Motalpapaqstan, Free Republic of Jelbania Cash remittances coursed through banks dropped by 18% in
4439 according to an annual report released by the Jelbek Central Bank.
The Jelbek economy has always been heavily reliant on payments from workers overseas, but has become even more
reliant in the Confederal period while the local economy struggles to recover. Estimates from the last half of the 4430s
put nearly 12% of Jelbeks employed abroad, a number unparalleled in the developed nations of Terra. The majority are
employed in Vanuku or Deltaria, but large groups are employed in Terra's extraction economies in places like Aldegar
and Trigunia.
In the wake of a far-ranging
outbreak of syphilis that has wracked Jelbania, many of these foreign nations, including
Vanuku,
Cildania, and
Aldegar have implemented restrictions on immigration and travel from Jelbania, limiting the
ability of these Jelbek workers to earn a living, and the results have manifested in a tragic spiral: many Jelbek women,
seeking income, have resorted to prostitution, and infection rates have skyrocketed, with one in twenty Jelbek adults
now estimated by the Jelbek Health Authority to be infected. The JHA reports that stillbirths, a common outcome for
pregnancies in infected women, have reached highs unseen in the settled areas of Jelbania for centuries.
Crime has also reached record highs, with Internal Minister Azi Grzkaisrmko Jezkrzi noting that capital offenses in 4439
were up 48% from their already-record highs. Experts note that these numbers don't even include meaningful statistics
from the Confederal Tribal Areas where the Confederal government has all but lost control. Attacks on medical
personnel in the CTA have risen by 14%, frustrating even the best intended efforts to quell the spread of the disease.
Faced with these realities, Mrjkai Azi Klunesrmko Baokrt and Wrntusrljikai Shlajkai Grzkaisrmko Akedkáhe have met
with their Vanukese and Deltarian counterparts,formally requesting that they aid in the distribution of medicine
(Vanuku has already begun this effort), in border enforcement, and in policing of the Confederal Tribal Areas. The
latter request represents a serious regression for the Great Confederation, which had proudly celebrated the exit
of Vanukese and Deltarian troops and police forces after the Rklemjistad Agreement's mandated occupation period.
Experts are uncertain whether Deltaria will be able to provide meaningful assistance, as that nation is wracked by
anti-government protests.
Just a bunch of shit.