The Refugees of Peloponnese: Treatment and Installation

(University of Athens, Greece)

Abstract: The collapse of the Asian Minor battlefront resulted in the uprooting of thousands of Greeks who had lived on the coasts of Asia Minor, since ancient times. Greece became a place of welcome for them and their dream that one day they too will become citizens of the Greek state. It seemed that, even under these conditions, it would become reality. These people were forced to disperse in the Greek countryside and live in poor living conditions in rough accommodation and even catered by the charity of simple individuals. In Patras, refugees lived for several years under such conditions. However, from 1925, the construction of the first permanent settlements began, while at the same time they were integrated into the labor market. Nevertheless, hostility of the natives was intense and the newcomers created associations in order to improve their lives and claim their human rights. However, for the Peloponnesians, the refugees were strangers and marginalized having as a result that the newcomers abandoned the elements of their particular identity in order to fully integrate into the social fabric of the areas they inhabited.

This paper aims to explore the settlement conditions of the Asia Minor’s refugees to the Peloponnese and the difficulties that they faced in their attempt to integrate with the native structure in society. The research is based on articles from the local press as well as secondary sources such as the disquisitions of Β. Γκιζελή, Λ. Μαρινέλλης and K. Κατσάπης. 

Key words: refugees, settlement, installation, association, Asia Minor