Little Amal makes her first journey to Birmingham city centre

Since her initial 8,000km journey from Syria, Little Amal, a 3.5 metre puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian girl refugee, has become an international symbol of human rights. She has come to represent the millions of refugee children including those who have been separated from their families.
One year on from leaving Syria and 5 weeks after her visit to Ukraine, she will mark World Refugee Week by visiting 11 towns and cities across England, including Birmingham, meeting old friends and making new ones. Amal will be sharing a message of resilience and hope with anyone who has been forced to leave their homes.

In a free event, Little Amal will walk a route through the centre of Birmingham meeting ‘families’ of relations, friends and community groups. Each family group along the route will be posing for a special photo portrait featuring giant frames which will welcome Amal into each of their unique group photographs. This theatrical installation celebrates Birmingham’s diverse population and introduces Amal to everything ‘Brummie’.

It takes three puppeteers to operate Little Amal, a stilt walker whose legs become Amal’s and who also animates her face, one puppeteer on each of her arms. There is a team of ten puppeteers, some from refugee backgrounds. The puppet is crafted from moulded cane and carbon fibre.

Little Amal represents the millions of refugee children separated from their families. Her urgent message to the world is “Don’t forget about us”.