In the finale of "Ferma VIP 3", Mimoza Ahmeti had a surprise prepared: three great actors entered the farm to recite her poems. But as sometimes happens with surprises, not everything went according to plan.
Arben Derhemi recited. Then Rajmonda Bulku began. Mimoza listened, followed for a few seconds, and then made a small intervention, but enough to give the program the kind of tension that reality shows love so much, but pretend not to: she said that the poem was not hers.
Rajmonda froze for a moment. Then she tried to explain that perhaps they should have chosen the poem themselves, instead of reciting what was given to them. A very human, and very television-like, way of saying: "It's not your fault, Moza, but they gave me this."
It was Ndriçim Xhepa's turn. The next poem was not Moza's either. At this point, the surprise had officially entered an even more awkward moment. Moza said that she knew her poems by heart and explained that many poems circulate online under her name, without having any connection to her.
At that moment, the surprise for the poet turned into a short seminar on the dangers of searching the internet, because on Google you can find everything: cake recipes, life advice from Ezel's uncle, quotes about the modern world from Frida Kahlo, quotes sometimes told to her by Gabriel García Márquez and sometimes by Dritëro Agolli. Among them, of course, are poems by Mimoza Ahmeti, which she did not write.
If her poems were needed, they could have been found in books. Strange, we know: in the age of copy-paste, suggesting a book as a source sounds almost like irony and provocation.
And as if that weren't enough, some people thought that Moza "overdid" her reaction. Opinionist Einxhel Shkira said that, if she were in Moza's place, she would be very happy to have her poems recited by three big names. Exactly, Einxhel: her poems. This is where the problem began. They weren't her poems.
There seems to be a strange approach, which especially on screen appears as a virtue: when someone gives you a "surprise", you should accept it with enthusiasm, no matter what it is. If they sing you the wrong song, be grateful. If they read you the wrong poems, thank them. If the actors are well-known, thank them twice. If possible, also apologize for noticing.
More or less the same awkwardness was created when the poet Adriatike Lami, in a television studio, was addressed by the name Rudina Çupi. Lami responded with the sentence she received: “I am Adriatike Lami and my name is more sacred than your show. Here we are, let's get to know each other.” A sentence that, depending on the angle you look at it from, is either harsh or simply a more elegant way of saying to someone: “Good morning, you invited me.”
To return to Moza: it is not the first time that Mimoza Ahmeti refuses to cooperate with the "I'm pretending" philosophy, especially when it comes to her work, books, poems. A while ago, in "Goca dhe Gra", she refused to give a book to Egla Cenos, who took one of the copies that Moza had brought to the studio for an autograph. In a less poetic translation: books are not decor for the "Goca & Gra" studio. If you want a book, buy a book.
In defense of all the moderators, producers, and organizers of shows, it must be said that their job is not easy. They have to, among dozens of other tasks, remember names, check quotes, and find the right poem by the right poet. Exaggerated demands? However, we should not turn the discussion around whether Moza should have been “polite” (which, for the sake of truth, she was very polite), but how “polite” should we be with carelessness? Because sometimes we have an extraordinary ability to forgive a mistake and to get upset with the person who points it out.
So, if it seemed like Moza ruined the surprise, no. The surprise was ruined the moment the text wasn't hers. In other words, it wasn't Moza who didn't respect the surprise; it was the surprise that had completely forgotten to respect Moza.
Written by Sindi Salaj, editor-in-chief of Anabel. This text is the author's. At least for now. If you attribute it to someone else, you probably haven't read this far.
