The fake security concerns of the regime of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi are causing Egypt to lose its tourist reputation as one of the most important cultural and entertainment tourist destinations in the world due to its unparalleled, exceptional effects and its picturesque nature.
The latest revealing fact about the mentality of this repressive security regime, which has caused a global scandal in Egypt, is what happened with Will Sonnebuchner, one of the most famous creators of street food content on YouTube and Facebook, where his photographic equipment was confiscated upon his arrival in Egypt to shoot a series of street food series. The security services pursued him throughout his stay in the country.
Scandal for Egypt
Will Sonbuchner is a video blogger with over 8 million followers on YouTube and nearly 2 million followers on Facebook. He is one of the most famous street food content makers. Sonbuchner posted the first video of his trip to Egypt on April 5, titled, EGYPT Food Tour!! WORST Place to Shoot in Africa! The introduction to his series on street food in Egypt has garnered nearly two million views since its release. Sonbüchner posted another video on April 6, titled, NIGHTMARE Egypt Food Tour!! POLICE Shut Us Down!!, which has over 4.1 million views in less than a week.
The blogger began the video by saying that “upon his arrival in Egypt, the police confiscated all his photographic equipment” and that “the entire series was filmed using an iPhone,” explaining that the cameras he brought with him for filming were taken from him after 4 hours of interrogation to find out the reason for his visit to the country and the target From taking pictures and video, in the early morning hours to arriving in mid-January. Sonbuchner added that police confiscated his walkie-talkie, which photographers usually communicate with staff. He said that the authorities feared that it would be used if “a new revolution breaks out or the Internet is cut off from the country,” as he put it. He also indicated who prevented him from filming and using his equipment, despite obtaining permission to film from the State Information Service. And he posted a picture of the authorization he got.
Sonbüchner’s experience with the tremendous Egyptian police did not end there, as he was pursued while using the phone to film his program. The police stopped him and asked him to review the clips he had filmed. Then he was asked to delete his photos, claiming that the pictures were “not beautiful and not up to standards.” The video blogger concluded his speech by saying, “People in Egypt are very kind and friendly, but I have to be honest and honest in monitoring my experience and what the photo experts and photographers suffer here as they are treated like criminals.” Sunbüchner’s videos have become very popular, as we have explained. Unfortunately, many of those who had terrible experiences visiting Egypt shared their experiences in the video’s comments, which exacerbated the scandal and worsened Egypt’s reputation even more.
Security concerns rule the state
This is not the first time the security services have tarnished Egypt’s tourism reputation. Instead, it was preceded by many incidents, including, for example, what happened with the American YouTuber Alex Chacon, the creator of travel and tourism content. In March 2021, Chacon published on his YouTube channel, which has 350,000 subscribers, his experience during a tour near the archaeological pyramids area in Giza. He was subjected to multiple harassment from security men wearing civilian clothes who refused to show their identities, which scared him. Chacon said, in a video that received more than 400,000 views and extensive media coverage, that elements claiming to be security men pursued him for two hours and interrogated him about his place of residence and where he was going, which spread terror in him, especially since he did not come up with something that called for suspicion.
And the regime’s security concerns caused it to miss an essential opportunity for Egypt to put its name on the map of the film industry globally, as the security services slowed (mostly on purpose) in giving the latest “Marvel” series Moon Knight, directed by Egyptian Mohamed Diab, the necessary permits to film the series in Egypt, which caused the transfer of filming locations to Hungary. Diab expressed his regret for losing this opportunity from Egypt, as filming the series cost 3 billion pounds, which is roughly equivalent to Egyptian production since the beginning of the film industry. More importantly, Egypt’s presence in a Marvel series may bring billions of free advertisements and contribute to an increase in tourism. These are the actions of a regime that claims that it seeks to improve the country’s economic conditions. Still, on the ground, its security concerns are the ones that dominate and rule it, not the financial interests of the country. Therefore, Egypt loses opportunities, and its reputation suffers because of such actions.
