On May 18, 2021, Abdou Ngom swam from Morocco to Tarajal beach in Ceuta.
He had set out with his brother, but halfway through the journey the waves swept his brother away, and Abdou never saw him again. When he finally reached the shore, exhausted and helpless, he met Luna Reyes, a Red Cross volunteer who was helping migrants. Abdou threw himself into her arms. An EFE photographer captured that moment, and the image went around the world.
He was sent back to Morocco. He spent years trying to reach Spain again, and in 2024 he succeeded, aboard a small migrant boat that arrived in Lanzarote. He then settled in Málaga, where he worked as a builder to support his wife and young daughter.
On June 3, 2025, he died alone in a room after feeling unwell for several days. His body remained in the morgue for nearly a month while his friends pooled the money to take him back to Senegal.
The embrace that had once become a symbol of hope remained as the final memory of a life marked by struggle, loss, and a dream he never stopped pursuing.