Malians react to 'Spider-man' Gassama's heroic act

Malians have been reacting to news of one of their own Mamoudou Gassama now widely known as the ‘spiderman’. Gassama became a global sensation when he climbed up the balcony of a Paris storey building to rescue a baby who was clinging from the fourth floor on Saturday.

Ousmane Diarra is president of the Association Malian deportees.

“We are really very proud of our compatriot Mamoudou Gassama, who is one of the people who saved the French child in France”, he said.

On Tuesday, Gassama will receive a residential permit before beginning his naturalization process.But for Malians, France must change its immigration policy, which they say is unfriendly.

“You don’t have to wait to save a Frenchman to be naturalized in France…Their policy is really terrible and there has to be a change”, Diarra added.

The video of the Gassama climbing swiftly up the floors till he picked the baby to safety has since gone viral on social media. French president Emmanuel Macron and Paris mayorAnne Hidalgo on Monday praised Gassama’s heroic act. Following the incident, many have taken to various social media platforms to congratulate ‘the spider-man’ for his act of kindness and courage.

Gassama is not the first Malian to have made a heroic gesture. In 2015, Malian-born muslim employee Lassana Bathily hid customers from an Islamic gunman at a Paris kosher supermarket. He was in a stockroom when gunman Amedy Coulibaly burst, killing four people. The Paris attack killed 17 people.

Bathily has since been granted French citizenship.