CAIRO - Many residents of Kafr Messillha, the home village of Hosni Mubarak, are rejoicing that the ex-president will face trial on August 3. However, some say they are sorry to see the former president, being tried specially during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Ibrahim Ali Ibrahim, a schoolteacher, said that the trial would be an 'unforgettable' lesson for any president who would come after Mubarak. However, Ibrahim said that the Egyptians should not forget Mubarak's accomplishments over the past 30 years. "I am happy that Mubarak, 83, will be tried. He might be old, but no one is above the law," Ibrahim said, regretting the fact that the former president did not bother himself to upgrade Kafr Messillha or try to improve the standard of living of its 20,000 residents. El-Sayyed Eid, another 31-year-old teacher, said that the trial is a part of the Government's fight against corruption, which was rife in Egypt before the January 25 revolution that toppled Mubarak. The public prosecutor on Tuesday announced that Mubarak, who is currently in hospital in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh and his ex-interior minister Habib el-Adli will face trial for the killing of anti-regime protesters on January 28. " Mubarak should be tried for the mistakes he has made during the past 30 years. He must be held accountable and punished like any person according to the law," Eid said, adding that the ex-president was completely separated from the people of Kafr Messillha. He said that Mubarak was snobbish and did not care to improve the basic services in the village, which is located in the Delta Governorate of Menufia. "Unlike late president Anwar el-Sadat, who spent millions of dollars to upgrade his home village Mit Abul Kom, Mubarak did not care about improving the basic services in Kafr Messillha," Eid said. Alla Samir Abdul Baqi said Mubarak should be tried along with his corrupt officials, who should be held responsible for subjecting millions of Egyptians to poverty while distributing the nation's wealth unfairly. Mubarak may face the death penalty, if he and Adli were found guilty of giving orders to kill the protesters on January 28, a date popularly known as the Friday of Wrath. Bahia Saeed, a village resident, said that she sad to see the former president being tried. "It is sad to see Mubarak being tried. It is such an unacceptable humiliation for a former leader, who served the nation and the Egyptians for 30 years," Bahia said.
