Abstract

The Population Exchange was a convention signed between Greece and Turkey on January 30, 1923. The convention proposed mandatory migra-tion, a massive expulsion of 1,200,000 Greek Cypriot Orthodoxes to Gree-ce and 500,000 Muslim Turks to Turkey. One of the major problems of large migration movements is the health problems that migrants might fa-ce. That was also the case during the exchange of Turkish and Greek po-pulations. One of the most dreadful, crucial problems was the possibility of an outbreak of the plague. The rumors implying of that possibility were spread around at the time and that was disturbing the Turkish authorities. And for that very reason, the Turkish ships travelling to Greece to return Turkish immigrants were obliged to be disinfected beforehand. The event was nicknamed as “Waste of Rats” in the literature of the time. A regula-tion was issued pointing out the required immediate actions to be taken. Those were not applying the new regulation, not cleaned and pesticited througly, or refusing exterminating rats, were not allowed to travel to Greece and bring back immigrants. Istanbul Porth Authorithy was in charge of checking all departing ships to Greece in that manner.

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