Huge 11-foot ‘Little Amal’ refugee puppet arrives in Manchester for finale of 8,000km walk

‘Little Amal’, a nine-year-old refugee girl in the form of a 3.5 metre-tall walking puppet, has arrived in Manchester this week ahead of the completion of a massive 8,000km journey.

The puppet, created by the acclaimed Handspring Puppet Company, was originally brought to life as a character in Good Chance Theatre‘s award-winning play, The Jungle, which was based on encounters directly from the Calais refugee camp in 2015.

This recreation of Amal comes as part of  Manchester International Festival’s ‘The Walk’, a travelling festival of art and hope in support of refugees. Little Amal represents all displaced children, many of which have been separated from their families while fleeing war, and embodies the urgent message ‘don’t forget about us’.

@davidlevene / Instagram

Little Amal began her journey at the Turkish-Syrian border back in July, and has been slowly making her way across Europe ever since, stopping off at a number of countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany and France.

She then arrived in the UK, where she travelled through major cities like London, Birmingham and Sheffield, before arriving in Manchester – her final destination – over the weekend. 

Amal first walked through Wigan on October 31st, and will be arriving in Rochdale today, where she will stay until tomorrow, meeting community groups who provide vital help and support to local asylum seekers and refugees at the Rochdale Memorial Gardens and Rochdale town centre.

@davidlevene / Instagram

And on Wednesday, Amal will conclude her mammoth journey with the ‘When the Birds Land’ event at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl. The event will be completely free to attend and will cap off Manchester International Festival’s 2021 programme.

The events description reads: “Her days in Manchester culminate in a spectacular finale event. Surrounded by the communities of the city, Amal understands that she has reached her final destination. She is now ready to begin her next even longer journey: creating a new life in a new home.”

Little Amal will be arriving at Castlefield Bowl to conclude her journey this week on Wednesday, November 3rd at 7pm. Head over to the Walk with Amal website for more information.