Popular TV show brings Romani issues to the majority in Greece

15 May 1998

According to the Greek newspaper Nea, the Greek TV serial, Whispers of the Heart, has broken all ratings records. Apparently the whole country has been avidly following the love story between the central character, a Romani woman, and a non-Romani man, and the dilemma of the former over whether or not she should marry a Rom. Filming takes place in a Romani settlement in Athens and Nea reports that while the Roma were wary of the cameras at first and suspicious of the motives behind the serial, they now say that they thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Not all of the feedback has been positive, however. On February 22, the newspaper Vima reported that some Roma are angry at the portrayal of their lives in the serial, claiming that it presents them as inferior people who are lacking in culture and civility. It should be noted, however, that whichever way the serial is viewed, it has succeeded in bringing the Roma to the attention of the majority in Greece for reasons other than those negative ones normally cited by the media.

(Nea, Vima)