Coffee Economy
As result of the complete meltdown of the economy and the start of the civil war with banks losing their reserves overnight, Golden Shields have become extremely rare between the populace, as an unexpected currency began to be used, that being cigarettes and coffee beans.
By general rule, albeit this changes from region to region, twelve coffee beans are worth one cigarette with seven cigarettes being worth a Golden Shield in the new economy.
For some reference, a loaf of bread is generally considered to be worth two cigarettes or about a quarter of a golden shield with Provinciales costing amounts even up to 5 Golden Shields and a working old truck reaching the 40 golden shields
Between a rock and a hard place
The situation on the borders of Miglia has always been delicated. Enemies to the east, an aggresively militaristic nation to the west with claims to the north, and sea to the north and south with it's only traditional ally laying across the South Sea and whose only grant of territorial integrity comes by the hand of the guarantees by Schivia and Lombezia in order to avoid aggressive expansion of the unitist regime of New Ragdistan, as well as the presumed impenetrable the Exclusion Zone.
As the Miglian Civil War broke out, the possibilities for humanitarian catastrophes has skyrocketed, as refugees have not been provided many options thanks to the situation of the continent.
Ragdistan's borders remain hermetically closed to refugees to the west, despite being the only land route to the safe heavens of Schivia and Lombezia, two nations that have declared their doors open for Miglian refugees. Nevertheless, for refugees to use said route they would have to not only cross the most militarised border in the world, but also cross an entire nation that strictly emphasize cultural and racial superiority of the Ragdistanis, with a police force that would put United Veldanian's one to shame when it comes to finding out dissidents, let alone illegal immigrants. Those who take this route, risk deportation at best, and deportation or enslavement in the multiple work camps for undesirables of the nation at worst.
The second option and maybe a safer one, is to throw themselves at the treacherous waters of the East Angolan sea and try to make it to the New Hope coast. While the New Hope government had reluctantly opened its doors to refugees in order to comply with the Consortium's resolution Nº 928, the populace is not as keen on seeing their former oppressors arrive at their towns en-masse, and more often than not refugees would be subjected to a derogatory and humiliating treatment by the locals, that left them marginalised.
Finally, the third route, and the safest one would be to make it to the isolationist Ibwaii islands, the only place of the nation where ships still come and go to and from Lombezia, Schivia, and for the hardline syndicalist dreamers, United Veldania.
Nevertheless, the gargantuan cost for a trip to the island itself provided only by the Black Guard summed to the already expensive cost of the trip to the final destination ensures that most of the population can only dream about taking this route.