My friend Hassan Abdullah is one of Al-Ahram newspaper's most honest journalists and is considered a moderate Islamist. He entered my office agitated, cursing Mubarak, while I was on an overseas call with my aunt, who was crying and wondering how Mubarak was surviving after all his bank accounts were frozen.
I tried to forget about my friend and aunt's sentiments, in order to focus on Mubarak's speech, but another colleague entered my office and said that he wanted my advice on a good location for a flat. He mentioned that some people recommended Syria, while others recommended Lebanon. Few even recommended buying a flat in Turkey or Europe. However, I apologized to my friend and told him that it has been a while since I worked in the business field, and stressed that I am not a real estate broker.
I went back to ponder on Mubarak's choice of words, but was interrupted by a phone call from my friend who is a famous plastic surgeon in Alexandria. He was complaining about the bank he deals with, since it refused to transfer part of his savings in Euros to a Spanish bank due to the current circumstances which necessitate a delay of a few days for the transfer to be completed. He went on to say that the future of the Egyptian pound is unknown, which impelled him to transfer his savings in Euros in Spain next to the flat he bought there.
I began to wonder that if Egyptians in Gulf countries and others have their savings in Euros and dollars, and own flats and chalets in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and Spain, is it really possible that Mubarak and his family, after 30 years in power, have no money or property overseas?