RNN / Roma Soap Opera in Greece TV

Greece

Roma Soap Opera in Greece TV

Athens / Greece (RNN Correspondent) 13.07.1998

Greeks are closely watching the Roma. And, in a notable shift, it's not out of fear or suspicion. A frenzy of interest in Roma, their life and traditions has been set off by a phenomenally popular TV soap opera that chronicles the love story of an upper-class Greek architect and a young Romni. Claiming a viewership of more than 20 percent of Greece's 10.2 million people, "Whispers of the Heart" has challenged some deeply entrenched stereotypes and prejudices against Greek Roma. Roma have gone from being scorned to celebrated. Television talk shows visit their weddings; magazines explore their customs. Many people in Greece, as in other countries around Europe, have long perceived Roma as blemishes in the social fabric. They are thought of as petty thieves, beggars and general lawbreakers. But many Roma say they have noticed a marked change in attitudes since "Whispers of the Heart" began in October. "There's a huge difference in people's perceptions of us now," said Savas Georgiadis, president of the Macedonian Roma Union in northern Greece. "We were behind an iron gate and we didn't have the key to see the sun." Now, he added, the show "has given us the key and we're out." At an anti-racism ceremony in early May, Georgiadis presented the show's director, Manouso Manousakis, with the main honor. Manousakis also received a request: Extend the show for at least two more years. "We need it," said Georgiadis. But Manousakis insists the story has run its course and will end as scheduled in June. "The idea was to have a love story with a social kernel to it; a series that had something to say," Manousakis said. "The prejudice against Roma is still very strong." Physical violence aimed at the 220,000 Roma in Greece is rare. But social discrimination is widespread, and many episodes of the TV series portrayed such incidents. In one scene, Erato, the Roma character who falls in love with architect Andonis, is turned away from a five-star hotel. In another, she is regarded as a potential thief in a clothes store. The show, as well, has some inequities. None of the lead actors, including the woman who plays Erato, are Roma. "There just aren't any Roma actors in Greece," the director said. Broadcast on the private Mega channel, the series is one of the most successful shows ever on Greek television. It attracts more than 60 percent of the audience in its evening time slot, the independent ratings company AGB Hellas says. "At last Roma have a smile, where they had a tear before," Georgiadis said. Not all Roma share that view. "I don't agree that people can become sensitized to a problem simply through a television series," said Manolis Randis, a Roma and former deputy mayor of Agia Varvara, an Athens suburb with a large Roma population. "If there truly is a difference, I'm happy for it. But it's a drop in the ocean. People become sensitized through schools, through youth programs." Anna Lydaki, a university professor and author of a book on Roma, is also dubious about the social impact of the show. "Everyone is talking of Erato," she said. "But I don't know what will follow. I fear the romantic stereotype of Roma will prevail." For the moment, the series is an unparalleled opportunity for Roma to bask in mainstream attention. In the field in Ano Liosia -- a neglected area on the outskirts of Athens -- a group of young Roma peered over Manousakis' shoulder as the camera panned across a traditional Roma tent where a funeral scene was developing. Erato's cousin, Filio, is destined to die after doctors fail to take adequate care of her during childbirth, Manousakis explained. The funeral shots were for one of the last shows. "We all watch it. We have it on video; we have the music on tapes," said Vangelis Kyriakopoulos, an Ano Liosia resident who sometimes acts as an extra in the series. "At the end, we'll all cry together."

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