Vanished Profession

Have you ever watched the character of “Am Sameh” in the Egyptian series “B100 Wesh”? In case you don’t know who is Am Sameh, his job in this series was to write petitions for people who don’t know how to write or read. This job is called “Al-Ardahalgy”. It may seem like a foreign name for some people but it actually means a message that displays a certain problem for a specific person and it actually requires a necessary government stamp.

In some places, he usually sits in front of the court or in front of the government departments to write complaints for uneducated people who do not know how to read or write and he usually does this job for a known fee. If you want to know more about this job, you can enjoy reading the following article.

1-Different job fields with a kind of different experience

The job of a public writer is a free job that offers clerical services in different forms and different languages such as writing conversations, reading and translating it. As the huge experience that the writer gains from this profession return back to his wisdom in advice and guidance. He also gives his opinion in different situations and problems but it was done in a friendly way not a legal one. Their long living in front of the courts allows them to build a strong back ground about the whole issue.

2-How this job started and where is it now?

Despite the fact that the job of “Al-Ardahalgy” started since a very long time ago but actually it still exists especially in third world countries where there is a lot of illiteracy, bureaucracy and administrative problems. Some countries legalize this job under some conditions because of their necessary need for it, as for Arab countries, they are the top at doing this job, Al-Ardahalgy.

3-How does the Ardahalgy look like?

Al-Ardahalgy is known for his extra sleeves that he wears on his clothes to sit in silence with his big medical glasses to check what is being said carefully and write all what he listens without interfering or adding his opinion at all. He must be known by the people of his town where he works to acquire their trust, as they depend on him in their official writings. At the beginning, he used to write with a pen and sit in public places and he never put a specific wage for his job. People only give him a bulk of money, until he developed and started to write on a writing machine lightly, quickly and in a professional way that match the speed of spoken words without falling into any mistakes, then the writing machine became the writer’s companion.

Some of people who worked the job of Al-Ardahalgy decorated their booths with some of their photographs and put a desk and some chairs around for customers to sit on. All of people who worked this job was working continuously to the extent that once they end writing a petition, they start another one. The beginner in this job used to receive 50 pounds a day.

4-The end of “Al-Ardahalgy’s job

But the job began to withdraw in the eighty’s until it totally disappeared in the current moment, because of illiteracy confinement and the spread of computers and printing which made everything easier.

At the end of the forty’s era, Al-Ardahalgy used to exist in front of court, police stations, civil registry and city council to help the poor in displaying their problem, they used to have wooden booths beside each other where they sit in, those booths used to hold large pictures carrying his name, and inside the booth, there was some paintings that hold with verses from the Holy Quran.

So, after reading this, you have to focus on your studies, be aware that there are a lot of people out there need your help. So, try to be dedicated in your field so you can help others develop, because when they reach success, that’s an accomplishment.