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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 1 - 7 April 1999 Issue No. 423
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Interview Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Malaise at writers union
By Rania Khallaf
Farouk Shousha, a soft-spoken poet and former director of Egyptian Radio, was elected to the chair of the Egyptian Writers Union (EWU) on 22 March. Three days earlier, the Union held mid-term elections for 15 seats on its council as a controversy raged over the membership of a number of radio and television announcers and officials. The current director of Egyptian Radio, Hamdi El-Konayessi, was also elected to the 30-member EWU council. Council members hold office for four years and elections take place every two years for half the seats.
Criticism of the influx of radio and television figures has come from several prominent members of EWU, including writer Salah Eissa who believes that under the chairmanship of Shousha the union will become fair game to non-professional writers and poets. "A large number of announcers and scriptwriters will be admitted to the union's membership," Eissa complained. "There should be no problem establishing a separate syndicate for radio and television announcers."
Workers at the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), after failing for years to join established professional unions such as the Press Syndicate, are now seen to be invading the EWU. "Why should we carry this burden?" Eissa asked.
Other members, such as novelist Ibrahim Abdel-Meguid, do not see much difference between Shousha, the former radio official, and the other unsuccessful candidates. "I think he is of good character," Abdel-Meguid said, "but I cannot say whether we will be able to work together or not."
Shousha, a respected intellectual, is supported by a fair number of established union members, including novelist Baha'a Taher. The latter described Shousha as "the best of the candidates" running for the post of chairman and said his tenure would herald "a new beginning for the union, drawing on his highly cultured background and good relations with most writers from all schools of thought."
Shousha faces a number of difficult challenges. Taher expressed the hope that the new council would be able to "solve problems which have remained insurmountable for the past two years." Many of the members' demands were highlighted during the EWU's general assembly on election day. There were calls for the amendment of the union's statutes which stipulate that the chairman is elected by the council rather than the general assembly, as well as for the enforcement of article 42 of the statutes, which states that a council member should give up his seat if he misses more than six council meetings.
The general assembly ignored demands for the establishment of a library, a publishing house as well as EWU offices across the country, and the raising of monthly pensions above the meagre figure of LE50.
These requests, although on the agenda for some time, have not been met by previous EWU councils. Accusations of weak leadership were levelled at the EWU's previous chairman, Farouk Khorshid, who took over after the sudden death of his predecessor, Saadeddin Wahba. Wahba's brief tenure between March and October 1997 put an end to the reign of novelist Tharwat Abaza, who controlled the union for 11 years.
Shousha will also have to find ways of filling the EWU coffers which have almost run dry as a result of payment defaults by members. Delayed payment of the required 2 per cent on copyright from the ERTU, which constitute 70 per cent of union resources, has emptied the union's treasury over the last year.
Government funding is the solution proposed by scriptwriter Mahfouz Abdel-Rahman to resolve the financial problem. "We should ask for greater financial support from the government," he said, emphasising that "this should not mean that we lose sovereignty over our union."
At last week's EWU elections, 69 candidates, including 40 relatively unknown figures, nominated themselves for council membership. On the eve of the 19 March ballot, the union's headquarters in Zamalek were a house of ghosts -- devoid of banners and even candidates. Things were more upbeat on election day, however, and the small building was flooded with flyers, banners and crowds of candidates and EWU members.
A small tent was set up in the garden for the general assembly meeting but it soon turned into a mini-circus. In the hubbub, an elderly woman sported a paper neckband, declaring her name and voting number -- Karima Zaki Mubarak, No 48; another candidate holding a stash of pens, gave each voter a pen and a piece of advice: "Don't forget my number, 37."
The electoral programme of Yussra El-Siwi, a scriptwriter and one of the few female candidates to win a seat on the council, focused on workshops for television drama and activities aimed at bringing writers and scriptwriters closer together. However, both proposals were rejected by members during the general assembly meeting.
Mahdi Bondok, a poet from Alexandria who failed to win a seat, campaigned for a greater representation for his home governorate. "Alexandria is not just a governorate; it is the embodiment of cultural pluralism and our bridge to the world of modernism," read one of his flyers. "For how long will Alexandria remain under-represented on the union's council?"
