Refugees in the Palazzo Prefettizio in the Old Fortress of Corfu (9/5/1923). Spyros Gaoutsis Collection.
“Ragged and beggars we came to this foreign land.”
Μέγα Δρυ [The Great Oak], p. 45
In the end of 1922, Corfu became one of the most important hosting places for the refugees of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 in Asia Minor. It was an urgent need to accommodate them and provide them with medical care.
An effort was made to use all available space, in order to provide temporary accommodation for the thousands of refugees that came to the island. To this end, public and private buildings were requisitioned, and efforts were made to transfer refugees to certain villages.
It appears that the main volume of refugees was installed in the Old Fortress, which had barracks and other areas that could temporarily accommodate a significant number of people. It is worth noting that the Church of Saint George inside the Old Fortress accommodated 600 people.
Living conditions in the Fortress were not good, and during their stay there, the refugees experienced another military attack, by the fascist Italian forces in August 1923, which resulted in the death of some refugees.
For the Tellini episode and the bombardment of Corfu in August 1923 by the Italians see the special tributehere.
Refugees also temporarily settled on Vidos island, located opposite the port of Corfu. The conditions there were not good either. The island seems to have served as quarantine place in some cases. Placing refugees in isolated places such as the Old Fortress and Vidos, unlike other places, did not provoke reactions from the local society.
“I remember that at Vido island she didn’t have a good time. She felt that she was mistreated...not just her, everybody.”
Styliani Soilemetzidou, third generation descendant (Matsouka, Trabzon), Corfu 2022, The Corfu Reading Society Archive.
Buildings such as the Municipal Theatre, the New Fortress, the Archives building, the Palace of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Athletic centre, the transit warehouse, the warehouse of the City Hospital, but also schools such as the Arsakeio, were also converted into temporary accommodation sites for refugees, to which the local community did in fact oppose.
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Some churches, in and outside the city were also converted into temporary accommodation sites. Thus, refugees were accommodated, apart from the church of Saint George, inside the Old Fortress, in the church of Antivouniotissa, in the church of the Holy Virgin Mary Spilaiotissa inside the New Fortress, in Saint Paraskevi in Kynopiastes, and in other churches. However, in October 1924, the Holy Metropolis of Corfu and Paxos instructed its priests not to allow the occupation of the churches by the refugees.
The construction of jetties was prohibited by the State, although some were built, especially in the port.
Private houses and warehouses were also requisitioned to shelter the refugees arriving in Corfu. Naturally, such a development was not always willingly accepted by the owners of the buildings. The requisitioned houses were proposed by the Municipality of Corfu and the final decision was made by the Prefect. Mostly empty houses and houses with spare rooms were selected. Some of the owners of the houses that were requisitioned, applied for, and later received, compensation.
An effort was also made to transfer refugees to villages in the Corfiot countryside. Such a prospect, however, was not welcomed by the inhabitants of the villages. In the Prefecture’s registry, there are several reports from communities regarding the lack of space for the accommodation of the refugees. Nevertheless, some refugees temporarily settled in the countryside.
However, the various buildings that were used to cover the accommodation needs of the refugees, were gradually evacuated. The refugees remained in the Old Fortress until 1930, when refugee quarters were created in Corfu.
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There were also individual cases of refugee families who managed to rent a house immediately after their arrival on the island.
Apart from addressing the accommodation issue, the state and the local authorities had to provide for the refugee’s other basic needs, such as food and health care.
The mass settlement of hundreds of refugees in inappropriate spaces, in combination with the poor living conditions, were a cause of concern for the local authorities regarding the transmission of diseases and epidemics.
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In the first years of the refugees’ presence on the island, epidemics of plague, typhus fever, smallpox, and trachoma broke out. Some of them posed a threat for the local population.
Such is the case of Doctor Dimitrios Gousis, who, while offering his services to the refugee clinic of the Old Fortress, was infected by typhus fever in 1923.
The City Hospital undertook the care of the thousands of displaced refugees. In some cases, of course, refugees were hospitalised in the Military Hospital, while many turned to the Psychiatric Hospital not being able to withstand the burden of being uprooted from their homelands. In order to meet the immediate needs, in early 1923, two more hospitals were established and operated for a short time; the hospital in Garitsa, named “Temporary Women Refugees’ Hospital”, and the Hospital of Kanoni, in Felsch Manor. At the same time, a refugee clinic operated in the Old Fortress and in Mandouki, areas where the main volume of refugees in Corfu was concentrated. Moreover, by authorisation of the Ministry for Healthcare, two pharmacies in the town executed prescriptions for the refugees.
The Red Cross also played a significant role in the care of the refugees, mainly by organizing soup kitchens and distributing basic necessities.
In Corfu, as in the rest of Greece, foreign charitable organisations offered their valuable services. Especially, the Near East Relief and the Save the Children Fund contributed significantly to the care of dozens of orphaned refugees who arrived on the island.
Dozens of orphans were accommodated in the Achilleion palace under the care of the Near East Relief. These children remained for a short time in Corfu and departed for Syros in 1924.
![Ορφανά σε ώρα μαθήματος στο ορφανοτροφείο στο Αχίλλειο. [Πηγή:https://neareastmuseum.com/2016/06/10/love-tragedy-survival-near-east-relief-corfu/].](https://refugees-to-ionio1922.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/PROSORINI-38.jpeg)
Orphans were also accommodated in the Old Fortress, as well as in Saints Theodores Monastery in Stratia. It appears that the local authorities saw to the adoption of the orphan refugees.
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Apart from the Authorities and the organisations, the contribution of the local population to the refugees, must not be overlooked. There were reactions from the local community, but there were also those who helped the refugees who arrived on the island from the very first moment.
Furthermore the refugees supported and helped each other. Since January 1923 the Association of Refugees from Asia Minor and Thrace of Corfu “Η Πρόνοια” was established.
Although thousands of refugees found shelter in Corfu immediately after being forcefully displaced from their homelands, it was impossible for all of them to permanently settle on the island. The limited possibilities of occupation in combination with the lack of available land for cultivation were the main reasons for the relocation of the majority of refugees to other places.
"We shall never forget, especially we, who were fortunate enough to seek refuge and shelter in the hospitable land of the fragrant island of the Phaeacians, the warm hospitality we received. It is impossible to find words capable of actually conveying the brotherly love, affection and spontaneous cordial hospitality with which all the noble Corfiots surrounded the ever-arriving crowds of refugees".
Dimitris Panagiotopoulos, Summary report about the refugees who arrived in Corfu in 1922 from Asia Minor, Corfu, 1 August 1964.
[Source: Spyridon Mouratidis, Προφορικές μαρτυρίες προσφύγων της Μικρασιατικής Καταστροφής στην Κέρκυρα [Oral testimonies of refugees of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 in Corfu], Vanias 2022]
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