Moroccans & The Spanish Hug Controversy
Luna Reyes, a Red Cross volunteer hugging an African immigrant in Ceuta (Spain)
Luna Reyes, a Red Cross volunteer, couldn't believe that she became famous worldwide overnight because of a picture of her hugging an African immigrant who swam to the shore of Ceuta (Spain) escaping Mama Africa, spread widely through social networks. Nominated the hug of the year, the picture and the video received nationwide attention in Spain, sparking the trending hashtag #GraciasLuna. The twenty-year-old girl who was doing her job was flooded with sarcastic comments on her social media accounts. These comments made fun of her behavior and wondered if every migrant who crosses the coast towards her country got the same warm embrace as the one she gave to the guy in the picture.
Before she changed her social media accounts to private following the racist attacks she was subjected to by many Spaniards, she explained that the Senegalese immigrant who escaped from Morocco to Ceuta spoke to her in French. Although she didn't speak his language, she understood his situation–crying about his relatives who drowned on the way out of Africa. And while the Spanish girl was busy explaining his case to the media, she dealt with all the hatred from her country. She didn't expect to become the talk of Moroccan social media overnight, too: The Red Cross paramedic's hug became the meme of the month.
Most young Moroccans dream of leaving the country for Europe to embrace a better life than the one in Africa were commenting about the picture, saying that all wants to end up between her arms to feel the European hug. The Red Cross paramedic stated to the media that her gesture was his lifeline and the most normal thing in the world. Many of these European dream seekers took for granted and commented that they would follow the same path to get the Spanish "Hug of the Year."
The Spanish Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, tweeted: "#Gracias Luna for representing the best values of our society," but she wasn't the only one. Other political figures and celebrities showed her support to ease the harsh campaign of racist and sexist abuse launched against the Red Cross volunteer. Since she was dating a black boyfriend in real life, more Spanish racists went further in their comments, calling her "Miss Once You Go Black, You Never Come Back." While many people worried about the crisis between the neighboring countries and the media circus of Spain condemning Morocco for deliberately opening border gates and allowing migrants through, millions of young people in Morocco and Africa were busy with making their dream come true: how to end up in the arms of the blonde Spanish Red Cross Volunteer of the Year, Luna Reyes. Waiting to see the same effect of the hug of the year between the politicians of both long-time friendly countries to solve this situation, Moroccan Drama continues…
