For the past several months, Little Amal, an 11-foot-tall puppet depicting a Syrian refugee girl, has been on a 5,000-mile trek across Europe, bringing attention to the plight of millions of refugees and displaced children around the world. The Handspring Puppet Company and Good Chance Theatre worked together to build the character and embark on the months-long project titled “The Walk,” beginning on the Syrian border with Turkey, passing through dozens of cities and towns in Europe and ending in the United Kingdom. Amir Nizar Zuabi, the project’s artistic director, says, “The purpose of The Walk is to highlight the potential of the refugee, not just their dire circumstances. Little Amal is 3.5 meters tall because we want the world to grow big enough to greet her.”
The Journey of Little Amal
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![An 11-foot-tall puppet of a young girl stand surrounded by a crowd looking at it in front of a cathedral.]()
Read moreLittle Amal arrives at St. Paul's Cathedral on October 23, 2021, in London, England. The 11-foot-tall puppet representing a migrant Syrian girl had nearly completed its 5,000-mile journey across Europe, starting in Gaziantep, Turkey, and culminating in Manchester, England, in early November. #
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![More than a dozen children carry bird puppets on long sticks while walking over a bridge.]()
Read moreChildren carry bird puppets alongside Little Amal in Adana, Turkey, en route to the U.K., on July 28, 2021. #
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![A tall puppet of a girl walks alongside people carrying bird puppets on sticks.]()
Read moreLittle Amal walks among children in Adana, Turkey, on July 28, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet of a girl looks in the window of a building.]()
Read moreLittle Amal leans down to look inside a building in the Eleusis district of Athens, Greece, during her visit on September 1, 2021. #
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![A crowd watches as two giant puppets embrace.]()
Read moreLittle Amal arrives in Bari at Torre a Mare and meets and embraces the Great Grandmother in Corso Vittorio Emanuele, a work in papier-mâché, on September 7, 2021, in Italy. #
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![People greet a giant puppet in a street.]()
Read morePeople greet Little Amal as she walks in Rome, Italy, on September 12, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet peers around a white stone wall.]()
Read moreLittle Amal arrives at Saint Peter's Square in Vatican City on September 10, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet walks near a boat on a beach.]()
Read moreAmal arrives in Torre a Mare, where she greets amused people who welcome her, as she walks the streets of the old city, on September 7, 2021, in Bari, Italy. #
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![People watch as a giant puppet walks past an ornate museum wall.]()
Read moreLittle Amal walks beside the Mucem museum in Marseille, France, on September 22, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet "sleeps," laying down outside a theater at night.]()
Read moreMembers of the public approach Little Amal outside the Piraeus Municipal Theatre on September 4, 2021, in Piraeus, Greece. #
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![A giant puppet walks across a pedestrian bridge, with ocean and mountains visible in the background.]()
Read moreLittle Amal moves through the Mucem museum in Marseille on September 22, 2021. #
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![Audience members observe a giant puppet inside a theatre space.]()
Read moreA public mini-concert takes place for Little Amal at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 28, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet embraces a statue depicting huddled refugees.]()
Read moreLittle Amal embraces the Angels Unawares sculpture, depicting migrants and refugees, in the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square on September 10, 2021. #
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![People gather around a giant puppet and wave together in front of the Eiffel Tower.]()
Read moreLittle Amal arrives at Human Rights Square near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, on October 15, 2021. #
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![People atop a van reach out to greet a tall puppet.]()
Read moreLittle Amal meets people while strolling through the streets of the city of Calais, France, on October 17, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet is walked along a broad beach.]()
Read moreLittle Amal walks the shore of Bray-Dunes beach, looking toward the United Kingdom, on October 17, 2021, near Dunkirk, France. #
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![Several children reach up to touch the hand of a giant puppet.]()
Read moreChildren from St. Mary's Primary Academy hold the hand of Little Amal in Folkestone, England, on October 19, 2021. #
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![Actor Jude Law interacts with a giant puppet.]()
Read moreThe actor Jude Law holds the hand of Little Amal in Folkestone, England, on October 19, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet walks through a very crowded street in an English town.]()
Read moreLittle Amal walks through the town of Canterbury, England, followed by hundreds of members of the public and schoolchildren on October 21, 2021. #
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![A giant puppet reaches out to a cardinal in a cathedral in London.]()
Read moreLittle Amal is addressed by the archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, in London's Westminster Cathedral as she continues on her trip across Europe, on October 25, 2021. #
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