Intellectuals try to keep going. But their situation is very difficult. Those who have had the courage to voice their opposition have often paid a very high price.

Be vigilant, for nothing one achieves lasts forever.

We do not have many intellectuals who can speak out for us internationally. We have no writers who are recognized, respected and loved outside the Arab world.

What have we achieved since the end of the Second World War? We have allowed petty, bourgeois regimes in which everything is average, mediocre.

My characters are driven by a passionate desire for justice. They are rebellious and incorruptible.

My hope is that countries like Morocco will have investment to create work, so people don't have to leave.

I am a Moroccan writer of French expression.