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from: KHADIJA KOTHIA, Associated Press
Posted: Oct 19, 2021 / 10:55 AM CDT
Updated: 10/19/2021 / 10:55 AM CDT
Little Amal, a 3.5 meter tall doll of a nine year old Syrian girl, will be handspringed by children from St. Mary’s Primary Academy on arrival in Folkestone, Kent on Tuesday October 19, 2021 as part of “The Walk” of the Handspring Puppet Company. The doll began its journey in Turkey on July 27th and has traveled nearly 8,000 km through Greece, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France, symbolizing millions of displaced children. (Gareth Fuller / PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) – A giant puppet of a Syrian refugee child, which was created as a symbol for millions of displaced children, landed on Tuesday on the last leg of an 8,000-kilometer journey through Europe from the border with Syria on the coast of south-east England.
Little Amal – a name that means hope in Arabic – was greeted by actor Jude Law on Folkestone’s seafront promenade.
The doll, which is operated by three people, traveled through large parts of Europe after taking off from the Turkish-Syrian border in July and was greeted by thousands of people along the way, including Pope Francis in Rome.
“Little Amal is 3.5 meters tall because we want the world to be big enough to welcome her,” said Amir Nizar Zuabi, the project’s artistic director. “We want it to inspire us to think big and act bigger.”
Little Amal was created by Handspring, the company that made the horse puppets for the successful West End and Broadway theater show “War Horse”. The doll was designed as part of The Walk, a traveling art festival that hopes to raise awareness of the problems of young migrants.
The idea for Little Amal’s journey in search of her brother came from “The Jungle,” a play about migration and displacement produced by the Good Chance Theater and set in a camp in northern France where migrants congregate around the UK reach.
Migrants from around the world have long used northern France as a starting point to reach Britain, either by stowing themselves in trucks or in smugglers’ organized inflatables and small boats. Around 20,000 people have crossed the English Channel to England by ship so far this year.
Little Amal’s voyage will continue to Dover, London and Coventry in England before ending in Manchester in north-west England on November 3rd.
In London, Little Amal is celebrating her 10th birthday on Sunday at the V&A Museum together with children from all over the British capital who have been invited to musical performances and workshops.
The 25-piece puppet entourage will travel to other London attractions including the National Theater, Somerset House and Trafalgar Square and will also walk the streets of Oxford with a giant Alice in Wonderland puppet.
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