The late Mohameed Ala Mubarak's name may be remembered if one is able to build on the bridges he succeeded in creating between the opposition and the ruling regime after these bridges had almost been cut. I think the one responsible for this has to be the regime itself, starting with President Mubarak – may God help him and his family get over this tragedy. In such situations, peoples' civilization is reflected, even if there are signs suggesting that this civilization is heading for its own demise. Here are the Egyptian people – no matter whether they are rich or poor, supporters or opponents – sharing the President and his family's sorrow. All opposition parties, political trends – starting with the Muslim Brotherhood – Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim and his group in the US, opposition newspapers – not necessarily belonging to political and religious parties or trends - and Egyptian TV stations were all keen to offer their condolences to the President and his family. They said publicly, on this occasion in which no speculation was admissible, that there was no personal stance on the President or his family, but just political ones. Sadness and sympathy were made even bigger by the fact that the dead was an innocent child, the President's eldest grandson, to whom he was attached since he was born and in whom he saw the continuation of his family. He was the son of Ala, the polite young man close to the people and completely away from politics, its problems and complexities. The final message was clear: "We are sad for you as Egypt's president." This is a private occasion, but we can build upon it, and I do not rule out that the President may thank all the Egyptians and the opposition leaders. I do not rule out, either, that he may receive some of them to open a dialogue on the points of conflict for the sake of this country. It is not difficult for the government and the party to build bridges in each direction, both at home and abroad. These opportunities do not occur very often and as collective joy in our lives is pretty rare, let collective grief - which is part of the Egyptians' psychological structure – be a new chance for public reconciliation.
Information Minister Anas El-Fekki took his step, praised the Egyptian private media, and saw this as an opportunity to show the government's good intentions toward private stations after many accusations and doubts. Speaking of the Egyptian television and private channels, one must consider the three days of mourning they observed – although not entirely - to share the President and his family's sorrow. We may take it for granted that this was a duty for them. Yet, this should also lead them to reconsider why they did not do the same when more than 1,300 Egyptians drowned when the Salaam ferry sank and even more died when a train in Upper Egypt burnt. There was great sorrow at the time and it was shared by the entire country. Don't the Egyptian people, too, have the right to see the media sharing their sorrow? The media made this spontaneously, with no directive from the Presidency, as it felt this sense of sorrow. If only the media had done the same for the people… What happened with the death of Mohammed Ala will change many things in Egypt, including the media... hopefully!
