- Region:
- Spain
- Category:
- Society
Luna Reyes, woman volunteer in Spain abused online for hugging exhausted migrant
Luna Reyes targeted by far-right supporters after footage of gesture goes viral
A Red Cross volunteer tenderly consoling a Senegalese man moments after he stepped foot in Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta.
Hours after the footage went viral, however, Luna Reyes set her social media accounts to private after she was targeted by a torrent of abuse from supporters of Spain’s far-right Vox party and others incensed by the unprecedented arrival of 8,000 migrants in Ceuta.
“They saw that my boyfriend was Black, they wouldn’t stop insulting me and saying horrible, racist things to me,” the 20-year-old, who has been volunteering with the Red Cross since March as part of her studies, told the Spanish television channel RTVE.
As news spread of the abuse, the internet began fighting back. Messages hailing the hug soon began pouring in, drowning out the insults and sending the hashtag #GraciasLuna trending in Spain.