The return of Mubarak : YouTube edition

Last Tuesday many Egyptians waited at 8 PM Cairo local on a YouTube channel to see their former and ousted President Mohamed Hosni
Mubarak to appear and speak.

24 hours earlier, Mubarak’s eldest son Alaa announced on Twitter that his father would speak for the first time live on YouTube on Tuesday at 8PM.

I would have loved to share the tweet directly from Alaa Mubarak’s twitter account but the once-a-businessman -tycoon has blocked me on the popular social media network.

Anyhow Ironically at the same time, whistleblower Mohamed Ali announced that he would address the nation yet again in an important video at 8.30 PM !!

It seemed that the 91-years-old despot joined Egypt’s latest Political online video craze that has hit the country in September with the first video released by the contractor turned in to an actor then a runaway whistleblower who continues to release videos against current president El-Sisi on Facebook and YouTube from Spain.

Mubarak as he appeared in his video sharing his war memories 

Now he also joins the growing and interesting Egyptian YouTube realm in his own way.

Anyhow Tuesday came and a video was upload on that YouTube Channel called “Mubarak archives” in English. The YouTube Channel was created and launched on 13 October 2019.

The 25.46-minutes video showed Mubarak speaking about his memories on the Six days war 1967 as well as 1973 October on its 46th anniversary and his role as the Egyptian air forces commander.

He shared allegedly unknown secrets about the glorious Mansoura air battle. “ I believe the Egyptian side than the Israeli side because since I was in university, I read news about how Israel retrieved bodies of pilots found in the Nile Delta city “
The air battle happened on 14 October 1973 and since then the 14th of October became the National Day of the Egyptian air forces.
To be honest, there were no explosive details Mubarak shared it according to those who watched the whole video.
I could not finish the video until the end, to be frank. I had a long day and I was working a nigh shift when the video hit and did not break the internet as some had thought.
Here are my two cents or piasters about the video judging from what I had seen.

• Mubarak looked very old with grayish-white hair and crinkles with no dye or makeup. He looks like any man in his early 90s.

I grew up on Mubarak using that extreme black dye and makeup that did not suit him in the old age.

• The editing, the filming and the lights of the video are so bad.

It is amateur video filming. I thought that the whole thing is made by Mubarak’s son Alaa and his teenage son Omar but some hinted out that Gamal Mubarak is known to love professional photography.
He once owned a Nikon D2x and carried with him everywhere.
Already he still carries his camera on his shoulder in public events like friends gatherings and outings.

• I do not understand why English was used in the video title and description when the main target audience is the Egyptian people. The Mubaraks did not even add subtitles or automatic subtitles on the videos.

Some say that Mubarak would not have shown up if it did not have a green light from the regime and the army.

Others say that the idea of that video was the brainchild for social media figure Alaa Mubarak in order to restore some of the dignity and respect to his father who has been ignored in the October 1973 anniversary celebrations.

During the 30-years-rule of Mubarak, he was considered as the sole hero of the Egyptian armed forces in the 1973 war along with the Egyptian air forces.

Nobody can deny the role of the Egyptian air forces in the war nor his role but he was not the only man fighting it or the only commander in it that deserved praises.
It is a bit fair I believe that the light is shed on other heroes during that great war.
I hate to say it, but now his family and himself know how it feels to be ignored just like many Egyptian army commanders and officers as well soldiers who fought on that war and were ignored in the media for 31 years.

I do not know but I find it ironic that now Mubarak uses social media to let his voice be heard directly, the same social media which Egyptians used in his era to let their voices be heard directly and subsequently to oust him.

He is back online as many Egyptians miss his old’ days I am afraid.
I can’t deny this sentiment or feeling regardless of what I think about his days and policies which we are living its results nowadays if you think about it.
In 30 years, Mubarak would have done a lot and could have created a true legacy if he applied democracy and fought corruption.

He would have a true honorable legacy bigger and greater than his role in the 1973 war.

Will this be the only video on Mubarak’s archives? I highly doubt it. It is just the start and it is interesting to see how Mubarak and sons will go so far.