Each of us can say “I-AM-MOLDOVA”, Igor Guzun

[Info-Prim Neo interview of the Series “Moldova-20! Whereto?”, with journalist Igor Guzun, author of the blog “aiciscriu.eu”] [– What is the first thing you think of when you hear the name Moldova?] – When I think about the name MOLDOVA, I like DO more, МОL less and do not like VA at all because each of the three syllables express what happened to us and the country during the last 20 years. When a rock band discovered that the National Day of Romania written in digits represents the emergency phone number 112 (01.12), which is suitable for a people that is always in an emergency, I thought that the name Moldova also hides a truth about us. I like the syllable DO because it means music and because in English it represents the most important action verb. In Mol-DO-va, we did many things and can do more things even better than until now. The syllable MOL in Russian means ‘as if’ or ‘they say’. “They say living is possible in Moldova”. “They say that Moldova makes progress…”. “As if justice is done in Moldova to the ordinary people”. That’s why I like DO more than МОL. I don’t like VA at all as it suggests an uncertain future: “MOL-DO-VA will be fine”. In French, the interjection VA! means “I accept!”, “Fine”. Now that we have several meanings for each of the three syllables, each of us can say that they are Moldova. “I - A M - MO L D O V A”. Everyone can assume to a certain extent the syllable DO – to do, to make, the syllable МОL – to pretend to be doing well, and the syllable VA – with the promise that it will be fine. That’s why the country’s development between 1991 and 2011 was like a stage of results achieved by us all, while the failures are personal and are due to each of us separately. [– Do you think that Moldova reached the destination in these 20 years?] – I think that during these two decades the people of Moldova achieved better results than the Republic of Moldova and they have to pull it after them. When we say it is not fair that Moldova did not reach the destination, we lack the proverbial patience and this is natural: a human life is too short for so many expectations. When we say that we achieved a lot, we exaggerate in fact as there is always place for better. And the example of the countries with which we would like to be compared or where we would like to live shows this. [– Who are the people who left deep footprints in Moldova’s history after independence?] – Some of them were on in the headlines of newspapers, while others are in News Alerts or Breaking News on TV. A part of them are already in the history textbooks. Many of them indeed influenced things in Moldova. In this anniversary interview, I want yet to render homage to those who during at least these 20 years did good things in the country and for the country, but did not make the headlines for the simple reason that they did not do bad things. [– What does inspire you when you write something on the blog?] – The people and the words. I cannot say they inspire me, but if I don’t write them, they do not allow me to do other things that are sometimes more important and even more necessary than writing. This is the story behind my blog. The enthusiastic echoes that my writings collect from my readers are also a motivation. To a message addressed to Antonita Fonari, she answered: “Thank You, Master of the Words!”. So, I choose to continue in Eminescu’s style: “We keep to the blog/ And remain as we are.” [– Are the messages published on the blog somehow related to the public figures?] – I try to do so that they are not very much related. At least now because if I wrote more about public figures, I would contribute to increasing their fame. In a world of links, tags and labels, it is enough to mention a name in order to bring the person popularity. When the people from the media or the Internet users write about a person they don’t like, they criticize him, label him and make revelations about him, but they make him a subject of discussion and disseminate his name, even if in a bad way. [– Where will Moldova be in 20 years?] – We should ask those from “Viitorul”. {Igor Guzun is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences of the State University of Moldova. He is a blogger, journalist, author of journalism and communication textbooks, and expert in communication. He manages the communication engine “Urma Ta”.} [Vasile Dosca, Info-Prim Neo]