On May 23, rapper Mokobé relays on Facebook the photo of a man posing with his arms crossed, with a gentle smile on his lips.
The accompanying message is much less so.
Because this photo is that of Issam Benayad, an inhabitant of Vitry who drowned in Cap d'Agde on May 21 while spending a family vacation in the south of France.
The artist from Vitry also pays homage to this “hero”, who wanted to “help an elderly person”.
Mokobé has 900,000 subscribers, the story touches and we decide to tell it on May 26 in the newspaper.
While on a beach on May 21 with his partner and their two children, Issam jumps into the water to rescue a swimmer he sees struggling in the water in the distance.
It is an elderly person who fights against a "sea blow", a phenomenon of swell feared by the firefighters of the Hérault, because of the risk of drowning.
The reckless man manages to get out of the water, but Issam drowns himself.
On the beach, firefighters fail to revive the 39-year-old father and pronounce him dead.
The photo of Issam which appears on the kitty launched for his partner and their children, then shared by the rapper Mokobé.
DR
In Vitry, his friends are overwhelmed with grief.
“He had a heart of gold,” remembers Jonathan from Export, the president of the city's ultramarine sports association (ASUM), the football club where Issam played.
He decides to launch a pot to honor his gesture and relieve the pain of his relatives.
On June 7, it already reached more than 12,300 euros.
"All our life, we will try to live up to what we are doing"
It is he who puts the Parisian in touch with Maud, Issam's partner and mother of their two children.
Present at the time of the tragedy, she says that her companion, who was not a good swimmer, “did not hesitate” to take the plunge.
"All our life, we will try to live up to his act," she testifies.
We have infinite love for him.
"
Issam Benayad was 39 years old.
Father of two children, he lost his life as a hero, saving that of another.
I have sent my support to his family and propose that he be awarded the medal for an act of courage and dedication.https: //t.co/COlPYUGTLR
- 🇫🇷 MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) May 27, 2021
The article provokes numerous testimonies of support, coming from strangers or personalities. "Assa Traoré or Latifa Ibn Ziaten wrote to me," said Maud on Friday, two weeks after Issam's death and one week after his funeral in Nantes, which his friends from Vitry and the football club attended. "These testimonies gave me strength, it is in the image of Issam and his gesture which is a true gift of oneself", testifies the mother, who explains living "the roller coaster" since the death of the one who had shared his life for fifteen years, and could not "imagine it without him".
Minister Marlène Schiappa proposed "that she be awarded the medal for an act of courage and dedication". The city of Vitry, which will also give Issam the city's medal posthumously, indicates that a tribute will be paid to him on Sunday, June 13 on the occasion of a football match open to all.