The Refugee Settlement Commission

The Refugee Settlement Commission (EAP) was founded in September 1923 in Geneva with the aim of resolving refugee settlement in rural and urban areas. Greek and foreign representatives participated in the administration of the organization. The Greek state conceded to the EAP stretches of 5,000,000 stremmas, or £13,000,000 pounds sterling worth, for the implementation of the complex task of resettlement, in combination with the management of an international loan. According to existing data, the installation of 653,000 refugees (from a total of approximately 1,200,000) in urban centres presented much bigger difficulties in comparison to those encountered in rural areas.
The contradictions and confusion prevalent in the implementation of such decisions between the Greek state and the EAP caused problems in the provision of welfare. Acts on the part of the state mechanism to restrict the responsibilities of the Commission culminated in 1925, when members of the EAP were brought to trial. Until 1930, when the Commission dissolved, it had contributed to the erection of approximately 27,000 houses in 125 new settlements, without completely eliminating the problem of squalid living conditions.