The City on the Border

[Mahana]

^The town of Shigatse lies half within Mahana and half within Namdatka

Where will we go? Life in a town on the border of two nations.

As the news comes out that Mahana's government have chosen to tighten border laws with Namdatka, following the 2023 Namdatkan Refugee Crisis, citizens of the quiet town of Shigatse question what to do next.

The historic town lies directly across the border of the two nations, splitting the town in half. Historically, the city has been Mahanan more than it has been Namdatkan, tracing it's routes to the Aayan Empire of the late iron-age, which Mahana is a successor of. However, culturally the town is much closer to Namdatka with it's customs, people and religions that all align with other groups of the Careleon Plateau. 

Following the passing of the law in the past week the Mahanan General Newspaper visited the town to interview some of the residents:

Translated to English with help from the Bureau of International Translations

• Where will you be heading if the government closes down the border?
• "My family and the people of this village are Namdatkan, and have been since time began, essentially. We know where we would like to be but only time can tell." - Local marketswoman
• How does the location of your town affect life?
• "Little to in no way at all, when we are as far from general civilisation as we are they pay little attention. The only difference is that we pay taxes depending on which house we live in.

Despite the optimistic outlook by the local people, it is unkown yet what the final decision will be as to what will happen once the border with Namdatka becomes restricted.

Via. Mahanan General Newspaper c.2023 May 14