We will never know his true story. Scientists may soon be able to discern the gender, approximate age, and perhaps the ethnicity of the owner of the foot found on Lara Beach last Sunday.
However, unless the foot belongs to one of the reported missing persons for whom DNA is available from relatives, their identity remains a mystery. In a world where millions of people are on the move, thousands have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, and countless others have disappeared without a trace, a single human foot is but dust in the wind, a drop of water in an endless sea, as the lyrics of a pessimistic song once reflected on the insignificance of human existence.
While scientists may soon reveal some details about the foot, our attention will have already drifted elsewhere, distracted by other issues with broader implications. The news of the discovered foot has already faded from headlines, overshadowed by more pressing matters.
We are not talking about a whole person but a mere fragment of them. This disconnect makes it harder for our imaginations to fill in the blanks and construct a narrative about a person who set out from one place to another, only to be lost at sea. Yet, this foot persists in sending a message, a testament to the countless lives devoured by the Mediterranean’s waters.
So many have perished that we have become desensitized to such news. A decade ago, the world was shocked by the image of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, who washed up on a beach in Alikarnassos, lying face down, dressed in a blue shirt and red shoes. Alan had become a symbol of the migrant tragedy. In his lifeless body, one could see the care his mother had taken in dressing him for their journey and the hope they had held, fleeing the bombs falling on their homeland.
Today, nothing that washes up on our shores can shock us in the same way. A severed foot in a shoe is just another piece of debris spat out by the sea, perhaps inspiring poets or writers to imagine a life for the foot, knowing only the shoe size as a clue.
Nothing remains of this person’s identity and life except this solitary foot.
