Understandably tensions were high in Barcelona in the wake of the terror attack in August 2017 that killed fifteen people. But one Muslim man, in a bid to defuse the situation and show that love will always win over anger, was filmed offering free hugs to strangers on Las Ramblas, the scene of the atrocity.
In a touching video posted to social media, the unnamed man can be seen standing close to the spot in central Barcelona where a van drove into a crowd of people, killing 15 and injuring over a hundred more on a busy Thursday afternoon during the height of summer. The clip was filmed on the Sunday after the attack, only three days later, and the man can be seen standing with a sign next to him that reads, ‘I am Muslim, I am not terrorist, I share out love and peace hugs.’
A large crowd surrounds him clapping and cheering as every few seconds he is approached by emotional men and women who give him a giant hug and exchange words of peace and love.
Public acts of kindness like this have been taking place all over the world since the 2015 Paris terror attacks, where 130 people were killed and hundreds injured in a shooting rampage that took place inside a concert hall and on the streets of the French capital.
But it is important that despite these atrocities and despite the nasty things that a minority of people do, the vast majority of us still want to live in a loving and peaceful world.
