An emotional but arrogant display
Every form of material and moral support for those who lost their loved ones or homes in the recent fires is valuable and welcome. The same applies to the fund-raising «telemarathon» organized by seven private TV channels and broadcast earlier this week. All those who worked hard – both in front of and behind the cameras – to ensure the success of the event deserve praise. Five familiar TV personalities – Eleni Menegaki, Angeliki Nikolouli, Christina Lambiri, Giorgos Papadakis and Grigori Arnaoutoglou – were the main presenters. But their past experience in the service of private television influenced the tone of the show, with some of these «TV stars» acting as if they were at the center of the universe, as if the future of our country is in the hands of private television. For example Arnaoutoglou, referring to Menegaki’s pregnancy, declared: «From the new life that Eleni is carrying inside her will spring a new beginning for the whole country!» I didn’t realize that Greece was a monarchy and that we are awaiting the heir to the throne. In the background of the TV studio was the image of a large, barren tree which gradually acquired a rich coat of leaves as donations accumulated. The symbolism was simple and well-targetted. «At this moment, all the plants of Greece are very unhappy,» Arnaoutoglou remarked, as if he were addressing a class of kindergarten pupils. Singer Dimitra Galini made an appearance at one point, delivering a touching ballad which was, unfortunately, brutally interrupted by advertisements. It is good that one major telemarathon was staged to raise money for fire-stricken citizens, rather than many smaller ones. But the sight of overglorified presenters (mercifully not all of them) singing the praises of their channels and speaking of a «historic day for private television» was too much. «What a nice time we are having,» one could almost hear them say. «Everyone simply loves us tonight!» their expressions seemed to beam. But despite the numerous examples of arrogance and waffle, the fundraiser did succeed in demonstrating that the milk of human kindness has not run dry. Many of the telephone calls came from children who had broken open their piggy banks to donate their savings to the fire victims; some offered their bicycles to children who have lost their homes. Immigrants offered money, with many Albanian laborers offering to work a few days on burnt plantations for free. Citizens on low incomes, the unemployed, orphans – they all offered money in an impressive display of generosity.
