Young man from Mali climbs 4 floors, saves a child and becomes a hero in France

His name is Mamoudu Gassama, a young immigrant from Mali who, in a few seconds, avoided a real disaster in France and became the country’s new hero, even receiving French citizenship and recognition from millions of people on social media. Check out the details of this story that happened a few weeks ago and that stopped the Internet.

It all happened on May 26, around 8 pm. The 22-year-old young man was going to watch a soccer game when he saw a child hanging in the void outside a building. From balcony to balcony he climbed 4 floors and, in less than 30 seconds, managed to reach it, thus avoiding a disastrous end to this story that could turn into a huge nightmare.

There was a man close to the child, but the barrier between the balconies and the fear of making any wrong move prevented him from acting. The people who were in front of the building looked at the scene in astonishment, not believing what they saw.

When the rescue arrived at the scene, the little one had already been saved. The child ended up with only a broken nail, while Mamoudu only suffered a few scratches.

“The way the young man climbed the building to save the child is really impressive,” said a fire department official.

Witnesses who filmed the scene with their cell phones quickly posted the video on the Internet. In a short time, it went viral and reached the mark of more than 8 million views. The speed with which the young man scaled the balconies caused him to be quickly nicknamed Spider-Man.

Mamoudu’s courage did not go unnoticed by the French authorities. French President Emmanuel Macron and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo publicly expressed their thanks, and the young man was awarded a medal for his bravery. In addition, he received French citizenship and a volunteer post in the fire department.

The young man said that he had arrived in France to start a new life. Of the incident, he said: “I love children very much and I didn’t want the little one to end up hurt. I tried to think of the quickest way to save her. Thank God I was able to climb over the balconies. When we entered the apartment, my whole body I was shaking. I sat on the floor and it took me many minutes to recover.”

Who is Mamoudu Gassama? He is 22 years old and, until 2013, lived in the town of Yagin, in southwest Mali. The first attempt to leave the country was stopped by the customs authorities. In the second, in 2014, he managed to arrive in Italy.

He arrived in France alone and went after his brother. When Mamoudu settled in Paris, he started working on construction sites. The work made him stay in a good physical condition, but his living conditions were not good, he lived in a hostel and slept on the floor.

In the meeting with the French president, he confessed: “I couldn’t support myself and I didn’t receive help from anyone. I’ve already lived through many things. The authorities arrest us and mistreat us, but I still haven’t lost hope.”

Perhaps this is a good example of un-casual causality. Young Mamoudu was at the right time in the right place, and fate rewarded him for his deeds. History shows, above all, how heroes are not those we see in movies, but those who fight every day for a better life.