Those characters didn’t deserve to be treated that way. There was only so much they could do with limited resources and there wasn’t enough magic to keep them safe.
For some food issues, I’d start with some irrigation systems and some gardening areas for self-sustaining.
There should also be some kind of stronghold with a view to see who’s coming into their (de facto) territory.
Looks like I was going to make a model city for the oppressed.
C. M. B. Bell's Writing Universe 