Alex Trelinski
A GALICIA city has given a top honour to two illegal migrants who risked deportation to stop a vicious homophobic assault that made national headlines.
A Coruña City Council made Senegalese nationals Ibrahima Diack and Magatte N’Diaye ‘adopted sons’ of the north coast port at a ceremony on Monday.
They tried to save a Brazilian gay man, Samuel Luiz, who was punched and kicked outside a nightclub in July 2021.
READ MORE:
- Spain convicts four men over homophobic murder of 24-year-old Samuel Luiz: Horrific case sparked protests across the country
- Protests across Spain call for justice for Samuel Luiz Muñiz, murdered for being gay
24-year-old Samuel subsequently died in hospital but the incident provoked widespread anger led by Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez.
As by-standers looked on and did nothing- content to record mobile phone videos- Ibrahima and Magatte intervened to stop the brutal onslaught, in spite of what that could mean for their future in Spain.
Last November, a Coruña court sentenced the four attackers to terms of between 10 and 24 years in prison.
Two of the key trial witnesses were Ibrahima and Magatte.
After the bravery of the Senegalese duo, they were given work and residence permits in recognition of their heroism.
Now they have A Coruña’s special honour and two souvenir plaques presented by mayor, Ines Rey, with the ceremony attendees giving them a long standing ovation.
“That two undocumented migrants were the only ones who physically risked themselves to help the victim of a herd thirsty for horror, leaves plenty of room for reflection and also a host of lessons that need to learned,” Rey said.
“We are not heroes, we did what we had to do,” said N’Diaye.
Diack said: “I was born in a family that doesn’t have much… but they gave me many things more valuable than money. They gave me respect, education and above all, values.”
