Migration crisis in Ceuta: from the embrace that has gone viral to the suffering of attacks against networks

MADRID.- Many images have generated an impact this week due to the migration crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, but two in particular had widespread repercussions. One of them was the heartbreaking cry of a Senegalese migrant who, after crossing the border with Morocco, found solace in a long hug with Luna Reyes, a Red Cross volunteer, who shocked many and outraged others.

“He wouldn’t stop hugging me and I just cried”, the NGO worker said in tears, 20 years. Luna, as the protagonist in the photo in social networks calls her, is originally from Móstoles, a municipality in the Community of Madrid, and is currently studying in Ceuta the higher degree of social integration.

The wave of immigrants who came to swim on the Spanish coast in search of a refuge urged her, as well as several of her companions, to go there to help them.

She is an atheist, but ensures that “if I have experienced the situations that these people have experiencedI would believe in a God. “What frustration, what psychological fatigue and what anger. Humanitarian aid does not get rid of people, it responds to their needs and more so. Rarely do they thank you for something that should be normal, ”he said on his Twitter account.

The embrace went viral, and something that at Luna’s discretion was “Only a hug”, has aroused hatred and disgust among many users and even among officials and public figures, who along with racist and xenophobic speeches they condemned the young woman.

“Few images better reflect the moral decadence of these people and their good-natured speech. Oenegist hugging a stowaway after spending 4 minutes in the “icy” Mediterranean waters, and he enjoys the turgor of her breasts … “he said Cristina Seguí, journalist and co-founder of the Spanish far-right party Vox.

The president of Vox in Madrid joined, Rocío Monastery, who on the Spanish TV show Telemadrid commented that “Luna fulfills her obligation and with her work”, but he targeted Morocco saying that “Every time they see the weakness of our ‘progressive’ politicians in the face of illegal immigration, they send us 10,000 more.“. And he added: “Spain has invaded Ceuta and it will do so as many times as necessary if they see politicians and journalists taking bland and ‘progressive’ speeches and being blackmailed.”

Reyes decided shutting down their networks after receiving countless insults, attacks and threats, confirmed the Spanish media.

But above the insults, messages of support and admiration stood out. With the hashtag “Thank you Luna”, used in the famous blue bird social network, thousands of users around the world have shared Luna’s gesture as an example of humanity and thanked her and many other “Moons” for her work. as the Red Cross said, “Who help to fight” this type of “humanitarian” crisis on a daily basis.

Among the most viral, the message of an Internet user thanked the Madrilenian “for showing the values ​​that have driven humanity forward since prehistoric times, despite those who have always felt more attached to the cave and to tribal hatred . Thank you for the beauty of your example, because it helps us build a better world ”.

The image of Jean-Francois, agent of the Special Group for Underwater Activities (GEAS) of the Spanish Civil Guard, It is the other who has been around the world. He is 41, a diver, and over the course of the week rescued dozens of migrants from the water, including a one-month-old baby.

“It wasn’t moving, it was frozen, cold”, the agent detailed on the rescue of the girl. She confessed to local media that she was also unsure whether she was alive or dead when she was taken out of the water. His companions confirmed he was alive and safe some time later.

The photo of the welcome hug and that of the lifeguard struggling to swim with a child in his arms are only a reflection of the serious situation that exists on the coast of Ceuta, which since Monday has received more than 8000 immigrants, an unprecedented number.

These territories are a traditional hotbed of migratory tensions from Africa. Ceuta and Melilla are the only land entry point to the European Union from the African continent, which makes them porous borders.

According to information gathered at the scene, around 1,500 people were repatriated to their municipalities of origin this afternoon. Authorities reported that on Thursday the flow stopped and no migrants were seen trying to reach Ceuta beach from Morocco.

THE NATION