A white Red Cross worker who was filmed gently cradling an exhausted African migrant says she's receiving abuse from far-right racists
Luna Reyes, 20, was filmed embracing and physically calming a sobbing migrant who had swam from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave Ceuta.
- A Red Cross worker who was filmed cradling an African migrant says she's receiving online abuse.
- Luna Reyes, 20, said she had to set her social media accounts to private after a torrent of racist and sexist abuse.
- Reyes was filmed embracing an exhausted migrant who swam from Morocco to Ceuta this week.
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Luna Reyes, 20, went viral on social media this week after a Reuters journalist filmed her embracing a sobbing man who had just swum from Morocco to Ceuta. He was among the 8,000 migrants who scrambled, swam or waded into the territory on Tuesday, in search of a better life in Europe.
Reyes, who has been volunteering with the Red Cross since March as part of her studies, told local media she has approached the man with a bottle of water when he broke down and clung to her.
"He was crying, I held out my hand and he hugged me," she said, according to the Guardian. "He clung to me. That embrace was his lifeline."
The video has since received national attention in Spain, causing the hashtag #GraciasLuna to start trending.
But Reyes said she's been forced to set her social media accounts to private after she became the target of sexist and racist abuse from online trolls, including supporters of Spain's far-right Vox party.
"They saw that my boyfriend was Black, they wouldn't stop insulting me and saying horrible, racist things to me," Reyes told local media, according to the Guardian.
Political figures, celebrities, and social media users were quick to defend Reyes.
"We will not allow hatred to win," Rita Maestre, the councilor for the capital Madrid, said on Twitter. "Those of us who see this embrace as a symbol of the best of our country outnumber the others."
Spain's economy minister, Nadia Calviño also tweeted: "#Gracias Luna for representing the best values of our society,"
More than 8,000 migrants, many of them unaccompanied minors, arrived in Ceuta on Tuesday. But many of them have been sent back, including the man in the video.
Spain has condemned Morocco for deliberately opening border gates to allow migrants through.
