The country of Armagede - Essay Example

The Country of Armagede Geographical The country of Armagede is located in Central Africa, between Rwanda and Uganda, and is a rich grassy terrainof mostly plains land. The country has a total area of 8722 square miles, of which 1303 miles constitutes lakes and waterways. It is some 150 miles in length, and 70 miles in width, with an amazingly efficient internal transportation system between its two major cities of Commence in the north, and Happenstance in the south. The country experiences temperatures as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit during its dry season, and nighttime lows of 40 degrees during the winter months. A wild animal refuge spans an area of some 1500 miles to the south. This refuge is heavily guarded against poachers and contributes more than three million dollars a year in tourism dollars that offset the cost of the reserve and contribute to the hospitality and cultural art industries in the country. Population The country supports a population of 4,763,271 Armagede nationals with about population of 3,445,192 who are largely subsistent farmers with a per capita income of about population of $223. The largest concentration of citizens is in the two largest cities in the north and south where residents are employed in government jobs. There is a population of approximately 544 people per square mile. In the past decade the country has begun to maintain vital statistic and economic records that help show a continuing improvement in the country’s economic indicators. The per capita income has increased by nearly 5% per household over the past decade, as represented by the graph below. There is one university, Aduine University, in the north, a state sponsored university staffed largely by well educated professors from countries that offer incentives for foreign academic services. Most of the graduates go on to work for the government and in state sponsored elementary, middle schools and high schools. A large number of graduates leave the country for graduate studies in medicine and law, but statistics support the fact that these individuals return to Armagede upon completion of their studies. The city of Commence is unusually sophisticated, with a modern hospital where most of its citizens come for more complicated courses of treatment in healthcare. Like most of Africa, Armagede experienced a high number of AIDS cases, but, unlike other African nations, pursued a rigorous campaign of education combined with social programs that have proved successful in containing the spread of the disease. Armagede serves as an example of what can be accomplished in Africa given the implementation of social programs in conjunction with health education. The graph below shows that between 1990 and 2005, the deaths from AIDS had a significant impact on the country’s population. Pursing an aggressive program of reciprocity with drug manufacturers has, as reflected by the data in 2005, helped to stabilize the impact of AIDS related deaths. These figures can be expected to change in the near future as those people who have experienced stabilization with new drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS, succumb to the disease. Unfortunately, prior to 1990 the data and figures are not reliable, and made more reliable since that time only as a result of drug manufacturer research data. # Economy Lands not owned by individual farmers are state owned, producing national crops in coffee, beans and cotton. The state owned agricultural business accounts for many of the state jobs across the country. While the country receives about twenty million dollars a year in foreign aid, it continues to thrive in its production of coffee, beans and cotton. These crops provide 60% of the country’s budget income, or gross national product (GNP), of $230,500,000 per year. Another 15% of the GNP comes from the export of a rare crustacean delicacy that is found in abundance only in Armagede’s Lake Haikusutu. Once a year the crustacean crop is harvested and sold on an export market with prices ranging anywhere from ninety, to 150 dollars per pound. What the country has lacked in other natural resources, it is has more than compensated by building a strong tourism trade. Tourism contributes 25% to the country’s GNP, and foreign the balance. The country, while not a member of the Common Market for Eastern and South Africa (COMESA), has strong ties with the US and Europe, especially Holland, with whom Armagede has strong import/export trade agreements for its agri-products and spun cloth. The country also supports a US Air Base in its central region, for which the US pays the government a rent of seven million dollars per year. The Dutch and US also provide military arms to the country, minimizing its self-defense budget. The city of Happenstance, in the south, is one of rich cultural art that helps sustain an ever increasing industry in tourism. In Happenstance, one can purchase colorful hand-spun cloth, intricately hand-carved images of hippos, monkeys, giraffes, elephants and other animals that inhabit the Armagede game reserve. With some infrastructural support from the government, the citizens to the south have developed an increasingly profitable industry stemming from tourism. Therefore, the government imposes high penalties for poaching of the endangered species on the reserve, and employs large numbers of militia to protect its reserve borders against poachers and para-military forces from Rwanda that could pose a threat to tourists. Taxes The country is a successful model of socialism, and takes a small tax per government employee. The government does not tax the subsistent farmers, nor does it offer welfare programs that contribute to the financial support of the indigent. The country’s program of socialized medicine is largely supported by services and supplies from foreign aid workers and drug manufacturers with a vested interest in being able to develop new drugs in an unrestricted environment. Overall, the country’s gross national product (GNP), has increased significantly since 1990 through 1997, the last set of data presented by the government. At approximately $400,00,000 in income, with operating expenses offsetting income at about $150,000,000, the government realizes a GNP of $250,500,000 for the last reported statistics in 1997. New figures are due to be released in January, 2006, which should reflect an increase in crop production and higher exports. The country has insignificant import costs. NATIONAL GNP History The government of Armagede was officially recognized in 1968, a year following the rise to power of Idi Amin in Uganda.1 Armagede had been settled by Dutch colonists around the same time the British colonized Uganda, and, in 1968, Armagedes fought hard to be recognized as separate and independent from Uganda, finally achieving recognition in the United Nations in November, 1968. Aided by the Dutch, Armagede established a socialist government headed by Ademi Ubutsu, who had grown up in a tribal environment but had been recognized for his learning abilities and leadership early on in his school years by a Dutch missionary school master. The school master helped Ubutsu in his studies, and Ubutsu went on to college and graduate school in Holland, where he majored in economics. Upon his return, and upon recognition of Armagede as an independent country, Ubutsu, with the support of Dutch colonists in and around Commence, was elected as the country’s first president. Ubutsu was quick to establish a cabinet of supporters and framed a constitution that continues to be a living document to this day. Ubutsu continued as President of Armagede until his death, at the age of 83, in 1994. Ubutsu’s son was named interim president, finishing out his father’s term and seeing the peaceful elections of a new administration in 1998. Ubutsu’s son, Thomas, a physician, elected not to run for president and threw his support behind Konkiel Adaka, who was elected in a landslide victory in 1998. Adaka, continuing the social and economic progress begun by Ubutsu, was faced with defending his country’s borders during the 1994 violence that broke out between the Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda that culminated in the genocide of an estimated 800,000 Rwandan Tutsi and sympathetic Hutu.2 Adaka’s abilities and skills as a leader were tested, but he successfully emerged a world leader and hero when he accepted and protected refugees from Rwanda, and fiercely fought to keep non Armagede forces out of the country. Since that time, Adaka has played a key role in the peace processes in Central Africa, establishing himself as a strong and just political force in the area. Adaka has twice been re-elected as president, and it is expected that the country will continue its trends in political and economic stability when Adaka comes up for re-election in 2008. The country’s religion has evolved from one of tribal superstitions to Christianity, and while there have been reported incidents of attempts from outside forces to bring Islam to the region, Adaka has strategically led his country in striking down outside militant threats that would seek to destabilize the country’s political and economic bases. Adaka has sought guidance in matters of agriculture and economics from developed nations around the world. His government has pursued a diligent program in education and social healthcare to combat and halt the spread of AIDS. Partnering with drug companies seeking to research new treatments in a less restrictive environment than they find in the United States or the UK, Adaka has afforded drug manufacturers a base of near unrestricted research in exchange for medicine and treatment of some 35,000 HIV positive patients, including children and infants. Adaka has been highly visible in communities throughout the country that have been hardest hit by the disease, implementing programs of social reform and healthcare that has helped alter the course of the disease. Recently, Adaka was recognized as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Humanitarian Service for his aggressive policies to combat and halt the spread of AIDS in his country. The country continues to make forward progress as an independent nation and a leader in the political processes in Central Africa. As it is best known for its warm and inviting hospitality towards travelers, Armagede is sure to enjoy an increasing business in tourism, especially since it offers, too, a safe haven where tourists can feel sure that they’re being looked after by a world friendly government. Recently, Armagede has begun exploring the tourism in a different way, by appealing to the nature enthusiasts and creating long trails through the countryside for hiking and biking. The First National Armagede Bike Races will be held next year, starting in Commence, and ending in Happenstance. The country is also bidding on the 2010 Summer Olympics, and it looks very likely that they may be selected to host that world event! Future Armagede is an example of how a third world country can, with the support and assistance of industrialized nations, emerge strong and independent and secure to become solid citizens of a world community. While the country does have to be concerned with its neighbors that have proven hostile and threatening in the past, the country can count on the assistance of the free world to help ensure its forward progress in that direction. If there is a concern for Armagede, is Adaka’s opposition, the Munisi Party, which is a party that stands primarily for religious conversion to Islam. Thus far, the party has received very little support from the country’s citizens, and so long as political and economic trends go in the direction of democracy, the hope for continued stability is strong, and its prospects for the future are good. Works Cited Nation by Nation. Rwanda. Uganda. 8 January 2006. http://www.nationbynation.com/. Read More