This shot indirectly overlays the narrative of the refugee crisis in Lampedusa onto that of the locals in Gianfranco Rosi’s film Fire at Sea. Though we almost never see the two narratives intersect, the film makes known the presence of the refugees in the everyday lives of the Italian locals through subtleties such as symbolic imagery. Here we see the Jack-o-lantern face of a cactus paddle with its gashes ineffectively covered with electrical tape. The two Lampedusan boys have just pummeled the group of cacti with stones, debris and firecrackers slung from their homemade sling shots. After their attack, the boys attempt to mend the cactus faces with tape that will not stick. This image symbolizes the plight of refugees who travel to Lampedusa, and the ineptitude of Italian attempts to help them. 

Firstly, the faces carved into the cactus paddle are foreign; they are human features forced onto parts of a landscape. The cactus faces can therefore be taken to represent the arrival of African refugees at Lampedusa. Such a representation objectifies the refugees, raising an issue certainly worthy of discussion, but that cannot be fully covered within the scope of this post. Now, if we take this representation to be true, then we must also acknowledge that it is the Italian boys that destroy the faces, which suggests that the Italians are directly attacking the refugees when in fact this is not the case. Nevertheless, the film intends to show that no human (besides the oppressed themself) is innocent in a refugee crisis, even when they have committed no direct offense (recall The Doctor when he says that “It’s the duty of every human being to help these people”).  

The sporadic application and peeling-off of the electrical tape suggests that the Italian efforts to save and heal the people who travel to Lampedusa are inadequate. In vain, the boys tend the wounds they have inflicted and leave the scene with naïve hope that their efforts will succeed. Likewise, Italians in the film work to save and help the people seeking refuge in Lampedusa, sending rescue vessels and offering medical care. But, as the film implies from the beginning and as The Doctor agrees, they cannot save everyone, and indeed many thousands die.

Further, Italian efforts place only a bandage over a fatal wound; no matter how many people they help on the ground, the greater problem lies within politics. People will continue to seek refuge and continue to suffer and die at sea while their situation at home remains constant. This idea is reflected in the still, as the tape merely covers the wounds of a dying plant. Lastly, it is significant that the ‘mouth’ of the cactus is covered, mirroring the silence the refugees face in this political uproar.