Giant refugee puppet head to EU parliament

A 3.5-metre tall puppet depicting the journey of a Syrian refugee has arrived in Brussels.

‘Little Amal’ arrived in Brussels as part of ‘The Walk’, an initiative hoping to raise awareness of the refugee journey from Syria to the UK.

She delivered a mountain of letters to the European Parliament yesterday. The sacks of letters were presented to the parliament to draw attention to the difficulties experienced by Syrian children.

The Walk is being prepared under the leadership of Good Chance, a UK-based theatre and art company, and supported by Turkey’s Association of Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM) along with the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) and the project’s envoys, Turkish actress Berguzer Korel and actor Halit Ergenc.

READ: Will world leaders at COP26 resolve the refugee crisis? 

Little Amal, who is based on a nine-year-old Syrian child, is travelling 8,000 kilometres through eight countries in search of her mother, drawing attention to the challenges she faced.

Symbolising millions of displaced refugee children, the 3.5-metre high puppet began her journey in Gaziantep, located near the Turkish-Syrian border on 27 July and is due to reach her final destination, Manchester, on 3 November.