UNITED
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC
of the MARI'IM
ISLANDSOffice
of External Information
.
GEOGRAPHY OF MARI'IM
Mari'im is located in the Cislendian Ocean, off the eastern coast of the Melanian continent. Most of it is insular - there are eight major islands, with Mo'i'a being by far the largest. There are also a large number of smaller islands, although not every island is inhabited. Mari'im also encompasses the Aka'ia peninsula, to the south.
Aka'ia gives Mari'im its only land border, with Solimar, although the rugged terrain limits cross-border interaction - in most respects, Aka'ia functions as if it were just another island. In addition to Solimar, Mari'im has two island neighbours - Kua'i lies to the north, while Xochimechatl lies to the southwest. Both were once autonomous regions of Mari'im, but have been granted independence in accordance with the wishes of their inhabitants. Unfortunately, however, the process of decolonisation has not yet been completed in the region - further afield, Mari'im is a neighbour to Wang Chung, Joos, Udan-Woo, and Bowdani Minor, all of which continue to languish as colonies of distant powers. As the first state in this part of the world to be truly liberated from the yoke of colonialism, Mari'im understands its duty to help the peoples of these unfortunate territories, allthough it remains committed to peaceful methods.
| COMMENTARY: Mari'im's supposed generosity to Kua'i and Xochimechatl should not really be taken seriously - it allowed them to leave because it realised how little popular support it had there, and how little chance it would have of holding them should they declare independence unilaterally (as was imminent - they had only ever been under Mari'im rule because the Lendians put them there for ease of administration in the colonial era). Mari'im would never extend similar independence to the Free Isles, which would rather have stayed as Lendian colonies than be ruled "those lunatics". |
Most citizens of Mari'im live in rural areas, engaged in farming or fishing. The main cities are not particularly large by international standards - the capital, Marako'u'ii, has around 1.7 million people, and only two other cities (Aka'ii and the greater La'iri'ii urban area) pass the one million mark. There are a total of fourteen cities large enough to have their own Municipal Assembies, separate from their District Assembies - besides the three mentioned previously, these cities are Me'o'rakara'ii, Koru'ii, Ta'a'ii, A'urano'ii, Tua'ali'u, Laiti'ii, Pamo'ku'ii, Nuku'aki'ii, Mili'li'ii, Tama'a, and Toka'ii. The cities of Ciuda Albola and Nicolette, in the Free Isles, have equivalent status under the Free Isles autonomous government.
| COMMENTARY: Some of the cities are probably bigger than the government acknowledges, due to illegal migration to the cities from rural areas. Many Mari'im go to the cities seeking jobs and opportunities that are not available where they live, although a lot of them end up unemployed and living in slums. |
(Readers will perhaps note that many Mari'im city names end in 'ii. This is a local term for "city", and serves to distinguish the city from districts or islands which share the same name).
