Remote hamlets were difficult to reach, preventing serious disease control. During the plague epidemic of July 1921, "indigenous people and Asians without exception were forbidden to leave the capital, while Europeans obtained permission to travel after ten days of observation" (Faranirina V. Esoavelomandroso, study titled "From plague as disease to plague as politics - Merina interpretation of the plague endemic phenomenon on the Central Highlands after (1921-1936)"). According to the researcher-teacher, the pressure from Antananarivo merchants was more decisive than hygiene considerations in establishing movement controls during the epidemic. Such an observation, she notes, could not escape the indigenous elite aware of the steps taken by the Chamber of Commerce, specifically by its president Guinaudeau. "Information risked spreading rapidly among an alert population and creating unease in the city." Once the sanitary cordon was lifted in August 1921, Europeans could move freely, while Malagasy had to carry a health passport issued upon presentation of an anti-plague vaccination certificate. "For indigenous people, this passport could have the same meaning as the 'card' attesting tax payment or the 'individual booklet' attesting employment." In short, it was an additional document allowing the administration to identify "irregulars" and "vagabonds." This control continued in the years after 1921, and the Malagasy wishing to travel, particularly those wanting to take a train, suffered a series of administrative hassles. They had to accept vaccination that Malagasy feared so much, but for Dr. Thiroux, it was nonetheless "the simple effective means of pressure to impose" this immunization. However, to escape this control, Malagasy resorted to various subterfuges that the contradictions of the colonial system made possible. At the station, the ticket clerk received orders to issue tickets only upon presentation of the vaccination certificate and passport. However, by paying more, they could buy a second-class ticket, "the medical certificate being required only for third-class passengers!" Most often, they traveled by automobile to avoid the administrative passport requirement. The Tananarive Chamber of Commerce and the head of the Railway Service eventually noted "an extremely marked decrease in indigenous people transported by train" and demanded relaxation of measures. Nine years later, from October 1930, the administrative passport was no longer required for people from uncontaminated regions or those traveling between the capital and localities of Ambohidratrimo, Manjakandriana, Ambatolampy. A December 1931 circular established free movement between Antananarivo and Antsirabe. The following year, "all indigenous people in good health" could move freely between the districts of Tananarive-city and suburbs, Ambatolampy, Antsirabe, Manjakandriana, Ambohidratrimo, and within these districts. The study's author also emphasizes that during the entire period when indigenous people were subject to strict regulations, Europeans and assimilated persons were required only five days of observation upon arrival at their destination. Similarly, this special measure applied to Malagasy drivers and servants for whom they held full responsibility. The author stresses that for the Merina, racial discrimination between Europeans and indigenous people recalled social inequalities, while discrimination among different categories of indigenous people reinforced the image of the colonizer as protector against oppressive administration. The colonizer could, in fact, appear quite capable of warding off plague. In short, "relations with Europeans proved useful." In fact, the historian concludes, by not adopting the same health measures for all subjects, colonial power contributed to rooting "the myth of a disease that spares Malagasy friends of Europeans." And a rumor circulated in the capital that Dr. C.R., a French citizen, "is seriously ill, but thanks to his relations with the Vazaha, he will not get plague." An interpretation of plague justified by the sudden appearance of this unknown disease during colonization! Pela Ravalitera