Traditional Romanian Hypocrisy

Thursday evening, on the show “Sinteza zilei” ("Summary of the Day ") on Antena 3, Mihai Gâdea broadcasted a documentary film made by the Germans, Spiegel TV to be more precise, about a landfill in Vişeul de Sus , the "theatrical space" where a certain Moldovan family carries on and, in general, mimes a living.  Made with all the recipients of such realistic-dramatic stories, the film presented scenes form the everyday life of garbage seekers, focusing on how the seven children procure their food, either directly, eating leftovers, or somewhat figuratively, seeking scrap iron and selling it cheaply.

Undeniably impressive, disturbing images... Only that, at the same time, so trivial! How else, since every city in this country includes (at least) one landfill which, dehumanized, arrogant, doing their surviving act on hundreds of families like the Moldovans. You have the feeling that all the Jobs in the have summoned in Romania, showing us the soaring wounds and destiny disaster destiny form there, from the observation towers made out of empty boxes, carrion and decomposed material. Vişeul de Sus (where “sus” ("top") is sure to indicate a peak of misery) is only one link in a rusty chain of misery that randomly strangles young, Roma and Romanian, living and dead souls. That's why German stupefaction seems as uncalled-for as the equally gratuitous statement that the Earth is round. Of course, to television audience in Germany, all this may seem scenes from a surrealist film, or simply fictions. But for Romanian audience, in its majority, such a film like the one on Spiegel TV is worth less than any soap opera episode...

Hypocrisy seemed to be coming from elsewhere: from the attitude of the show maker Mihai Gâdea, who was very concerned with Romania's image in Europe and in the world. That what will they say since look how badly we look, why did we get here, as if the story of the masked appearances would still be topical. Mihai Gâdea  vaguely resembled Hedda Gabler, Ibsen's heroine preoccupied not with death, but with how death will come. For whom, among the millions of Romanian made to experience these existential peratology systems, still cares about how Italians, Germans, French regard us! How hypocritical can you get as to direct with such ease the focus of the drama on a "perception problem"?

And that wasn’t all! After broadcasting the documentary, we went “back to the studio”, where in a low voice Mihai Gâdea introduced his guests. Sporty, in stylish suits, with eyes sparkling with piercing intelligence and human compassion, Adrian Cioroianu and Petre Roman released rivers of clichés. They discussed, at for the least ten minutes as I could allow them in patience, about the "degree of civilization, about "poverty", about "image" and "living standards" (although much more appropriate would have been a talk about "death standards"), about "the current government" and, of course, "reintegration efforts”. They often used the imperative "must", as well as a plural of shared responsibility. Then spoke Mădălin Voicu, who in his concern to protect his ethnic group from the usual slam, spoke of the serious diseases eating away the Romanian spirit. Of course, Voicu advocated for the residents of other landfills, because the Moldovans were true-born Romanian.

Did anything change in the life of the family that Spiegel TV turned into a star family? Generally speaking, do the endless discussions, the voluptuousness of theories, the phrasing of the problem ever change anything? Perhaps only to worse, because, according to the logic of Romanian administration, authorities in Vişeul de Sus will draw the following conclusions:

- we were on TV! Oh, my Gosh!

- what if superiors to Vişeul de Sus will ask for explanations? Oh, my Gosh!

- we should hire a guard at the landfill! Otherwise it’s... Oh, my Gosh!

- the Moldovans are to be kept away from the landfill! If not, it’s oh, my Gosh!

And here’s how the little that helped those people survive will turn into... nothing! Oh, my Gosh, honestly!