An open letter to ESL writers

I read an article yesterday in which the writer argues that ESL writers should give up on writing and look for another job. Her argument is based on some letters she received from people asking for her help and advice on how to become writers. Even if the letters she received are badly written and full of grammar and spelling errors they can not be generalised to everyone out there.

The article is entitled An open letter to ESL writers, you can read it by clicking on the title above.

The writer said that if you want to be a successful writer and make a living from writing you have to be a native speaker of English; otherwise, just write in your native language or look for another job such as photography or web design.

If we agree with her on this and if everyone writes only in their native language doesn’t this mean that we will close the door for any mutual discussions between cultures and civilisations? And as everybody knows if you close the door of discussion you open a window of conflict which can take many forms the worst of which is war and killing for your ideas and beliefs.
An English writer writing only for English people, a German writer writing for German people, a Russian writing for Russian, an Arabic writing for Arabs, in my opinion, is lame.

A writer should write for everyone, not just his compatriots.

If you have something to say, a story to share, and experience that makes other people learn from it, the knowledge that you know, ideas that can change the world or anything that can be written just write them and don’t worry about the language. The language is the means by which you get your message across; what matters is the ideas, not the language. Don’t worry if you make mistakes; everyone makes mistakes even native speakers make a lot of them.

I don’t need to remind you or the writer of the above-mentioned article that a lot of famous writers in English are ESL writers; so in case you have read the letter and get disappointed like me and decided that you are not fit to write in English because you are not a native speaker don’t be. Your answer, our answer to people who say that we as ESL writers cannot succeed is to put pen to paper and start writing.