Photographs don't tell lies; or do they?

The lasting images of Hosni Mubarak will be the ones of an old villain who stubbornly refused to listen to the voice of his people, the photos of delirious Egyptians, young and old - joyously chanting and dancing in Tahrir Square, celebrating the fall of a tyrant while his hitherto friends in high places add their voices of jubilation on News Channels around the globe at the departure of yet another unwanted dictator.

Photos of the past, some only a few weeks old, tell a different story.
There are the portraits of a President, in the company of his peers, who forged ahead on the road of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, against all odds and at times against the will of his neighbors and associates.

There are pictures of a rather shy Air Marshall, who didn’t care about politics, a true Patriot, who was chosen Vice President for his lack of political ambitions, his proximity to the people and his leadership skills. Or Mubarak, the air force commander, a celebrated National Hero, who gave the Egyptian people some of their pride back at a time when there was only shame on the battlefield.
In the true spirit of the Cyber Age the world at large has activated the delete button on a man they called: “our friend and ally”.
At last Ex-President Hosni Mubarak will now have the time to page through his photo albums and reflect when and were he has gone wrong and who, if any, his true friends were.
Perhaps he will remember the old saying: "You can’t choose your family but you can certainly choose your friends”.

J.S.
(photos courtesy various internet sources)