The city of ‘A Coruña’ in Spain has formally recognized two Senegalese migrants for their extraordinary bravery in attempting to save Samuel Luiz, a young man who was fatally attacked by a homophobic mob in 2021. At a ceremony held on Monday, the city awarded Ibrahima Diack and Magatte N’Diaye the honorary title of “Adopted Sons of the City,” acknowledging their selflessness during a tragic and violent incident.
On the night of July 3, 2021, 24-year-old Samuel Luiz was brutally beaten by a group of men outside a nightclub in A Coruña. Witnesses reported that the attackers kicked and punched Luiz relentlessly, ultimately inflicting injuries that proved fatal. Among the crowd that watched the attack unfold, only Diack and N’Diaye stepped forward to intervene.
Their courage stood in stark contrast to other bystanders, some of whom filmed the incident on their phones without taking action. Footage of the attack later revealed the harrowing reality of the scene, where the two men risked their own safety to try to stop the violence.
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During Monday’s ceremony at the A Coruña City Council hall, Mayor Inés Rey praised the migrants’ actions as a remarkable display of altruism. “That two undocumented migrants were the only ones who physically risked themselves to help the victim of a pack thirsting for horror leaves much food for thought and a series of lessons,” she said.
Another city official, Rosalía López, echoed the sentiment on Instagram, thanking Diack and N’Diaye for their courage. “Thank you for your example in risking everything despite having a lot to lose,” López wrote in a post sharing moments from the ceremony.
The two men, who were undocumented and working irregular jobs at the time, faced potential deportation if they had come into contact with authorities. Yet, they chose to act out of what they described as a sense of moral duty.
“We are not heroes; we did what we had to do,” N’Diaye said during the ceremony. Diack added, “I was born in a family that doesn’t have much, but they gave me things more valuable than money—respect, education, and above all, values.”
The ceremony, attended by friends, civic leaders, and guests, concluded with the mayor presenting the men with plaques commemorating their new status as “Adopted Sons of A Coruña.”
In addition to their actions that night, Diack and N’Diaye played a critical role as witnesses in the trial of Luiz’s killers. In November 2022, four men were found guilty of his murder, with sentences ranging from 10 to 24 years. The court confirmed that the main perpetrator, sentenced to 24 years, had shouted homophobic slurs during the attack, highlighting the hate-driven nature of the crime.
