Heroic Malian migrant granted French citizenship

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Europe

04:10

Editor's note: As the year winds down, "The Link" brings you a special series we're calling "2018 - Beyond the Headlines" in which we look at some of the year's biggest stories, which may have been buried a little under reports of trade wars, conflicts, exits, and elections.

In May, a migrant from Mali received French citizenship. That came after he scaled the face of a building and rescued a child dangling from a balcony in Paris.

Mamoudou Gassama, a 22-year-old migrant from Mali, saw a child hanging from a Paris balcony, he quickly swung into action. He climbed the four-storey building with his bare hands, in a matter of seconds. The boy was saved.

Footage of the daring rescue quickly went viral in France. People called the Gassama a "real-life Spiderman." Gassama himself said: "I didn't think twice."

Mamoudou Gassama's quick climbing to reach the child went viral on social media. /CGTN Photo

The brave man's deed resonated, even at the highest levels. Gassama was greeted with a hero's welcome at the Elysee Palace.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Gassama's actions deserved special treatment, rewarding him with legal citizenship and offering him a job as a firefighter.

Paris's mayor said the city would support his efforts to settle in France.

French President Emmanuel Macron meets Mamoudou Gassama. /CGTN Photo

It's a superhero story with a happy ending. But the case raised many questions. Should migrants' rights to citizenship depend on feats of bravery? And was it the hypocrisy of the government to praise Gassama while pushing hard to deport others like him?

French film director and journalist Raphael Glucksmann said: "I admire Gassama's bravery. And I dream of a country where it wouldn't be necessary to scale a building to save the life of a child, at the risk of one's own life, to be treated like a human being when you are a migrant."

Leaders in the country's Malian diaspora community expressed serious concerns toward the government's drastic measures against the undocumented, many of whom have found themselves on a growing deportation list.

Mamoudou Gassama poses with a certificate praising his act of courage and dedication. /CGTN Photo

Currently, over 10,000 Malian immigrants live in one Paris suburb alone.

The total number in France is over 76,000. Gassama is just one among many. And while his quick-thinking has helped him hit the immigration jackpot, there are many young people like him, who may have no such luck.

Meanwhile, according to a special UN report, during the first seven months of this year, 1,500 migrants lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe when as many as 60,000 set off on the perilous journey during that time.