Last week, a tuk tuk (auto rickshaw) driver won Egypt over after he gave an impassioned account of the country's economic crisis in a Vox Pop video report. Haram masr yin'amal fiha kida (it is shameful for this to happen to Egypt), he says during a heart-wrenching speech.
The tuk tuk driver remains unnamed.
The video went viral garnering more than 4.5 million views on YouTube within hours, only to be removed by the TV station, al-Hayat which originally aired on TV presenter Amr Ellissy's show "One of the People."
Now, an Egyptian woman has spoken out about the removal of the video, bringing it again to people's attention.
In the video, she corroborates the tuk tuk driver's complaints.
The man was just asking for two simple things. "I want to eat, I want to drink," she says.
Some accused the tuk tuk driver of being affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, others of being a science teacher disguised as a member of the working class.
She then spoke out against Egypt's government, specifically President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
"Are you only able to pick on the poor citizen? And everyone who works underneath you, are they only able to pick on the poor citizen" she says.
"Stop being the tape on our mouths!" she says.
The government's crackdown on reporters, political activists and social reformers has drawn condemnation from international human rights organizations and Western governments. Earlier this year, Amnesty International described the crackdown on non-governmental organizations as "unprecedented."
Earlier this year, Egyptian authorities stormed popular TV host Liliane Daoud‘s home, hours after her show “Al Soura Al Kamila” was broadcast. Daoud levelled harsh criticisms at the Egyptian government on the show which aired on ONTV.
Daoud, who is Lebanese-British, was detained and deported to Lebanon hours later.
In May, members of Awlad el-Shawarea were arrested for mocking Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in a video criticizing the crackdown on anti-Sisi demonstrations and journalists.