A Spanish city respects the heroism of two Senegal immigrants, trying to save a gay man who was beaten to death by a gay mob.
Ibrahima Diack and Magatte N’Diaye obtained the “Man of New York City” status in Coruña on Monday at a formal ceremony , in recognition of their actions.
These are the only ones who intervened in July 2021, when Samuel Luiz was intervened by a group of men and kicked a punch outside a nightclub in the northwest city.
The 24-year-old later died of a hospital injury – an incident that sparked anger and condemnation across the country.
Mayor Inés Rey described the immigration behavior as “pure heroism” during a formal ceremony in the city council hall on Monday.
The video of that night showed other bystanders watching, some of them filmed on their phones, and the two were the only ones who intervened.
Rey Mayor Rey said: “The two undocumented immigrants were the only ones who risked themselves the victims of horror and horror, bringing a lot of thought to the desire for horror and A series of courses.”
Another MP, Rosalía López On Instagram, in posts sharing ceremony videos.
Mr. Diak and Mr. Nadia had been living in the city without documents and engaged in irregular work at the time, at risk of arrest and deportation if they were in contact with the authorities.
But the two said on Monday that they just did what they thought was the right thing to try to stop the violence. On Monday, in front of a group of attendees in the parliamentary hall, they were granted the status of “Coruña’s son”.
“We are not heroes, we do what we have to do,” AFP reported.
“I was born in a family that didn’t have much stuff…but they gave me something more valuable than money. They gave me respect, education, and most importantly values.”
According to Spanish media reports, the two were also crucial witnesses during the killer trial of Mr. Louis in November last year.
A jury found four men guilty of murder and the court ordered a sentence of 10 to 24 years. The court held that the main defendant, who was sentenced to 24 years, shouted gay insults during the attack.
Every year, thousands of immigrants arrive illegally at Spain via ship intersections that cross the Atlantic Ocean – the most common visitors from Mali, Senegal and Morocco.
