The Writers Union

By Naguib Mahfouz

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I still remember the day when the late Youssef El-Sebaai proposed that a union for writers be created. The idea appealed at once and gained so much support that a union was promptly formed. Looking back I am proud of the achievements of the union over the past three decades. The initial membership of a few hundred steadily grew and the union now boasts nearly 2,000 members. It operates a pension fund for its members, though it can only afford symbolic rather than substantial payments. The union has done a great deal for its members and for society as a whole. Were they still alive Tawfiq El-Hakim and Tharwat Abaza, who helped form the union, would have shared my pride and joy.

The union is now celebrating its 30th anniversary and it could use some help from the government. Writers are the mind and soul of the nation: society changes not through the application of new laws and regulations but by the ideas they generate. Writers are an asset to any society and their role requires recognition. I would like the minister of finance to increase the meagre aid the government gives the union. One in four writers now gets a monthly pension from the union, though the payments remain woefully inadequate.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.