For the past eleven months, Little Amal (an 11-foot puppet depicting a young Syrian refugee) has been on a trek across Europe. Her journey has brought attention to the millions of refugees and displaced children worldwide. 

 

The project, titled “The Walk”, was led by The Handspring Puppet Company and Good Chance Theatre, whose artistic director Amir Nizar Zuabi said: 

“The purpose of The Walk is to highlight the potential of the refugee, not just their circumstances. Little Amal is 3.5 meters tall because we want the world to grow big enough to greet her.”

 

Little Amal, whose name means “hope” in Arabic, arrived in the UK on October 23rd, 2021, and was greeted by many people. By this time she had nearly finished her long, 5000-mile journey, starting in Gaziantep, Turkey, and would have ended it in Manchester sometime in early November. 

 

Amal had a simple message for the world on the behalf of all refugees and displaced children and that was: “Don’t forget about us.” She asks that people recognise the dire circumstances in which refugees are in; separated from their families and overshadowed by the recent pandemic. 

 

This project has allowed others to understand and has informed them of the situation of refugees globally and also encouraged them to support the cause and hopefully, bring these children to safety.