Gracia Luna: Most Criticized Embrace, Best of Symbol of Spain- Rita, Councillor

These Pictures captured the raw humanity of the moment: 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 when 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, 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.

“We will not allow hatred to win,” Rita Maestre, a councillor for the city of Madrid, said on Twitter. “Those of us who see this embrace as a symbol of the best of our country outnumber the others.”