The Walk

Little Amal is coming to Riverside Walk on 23 October as part of her 8,000 km journey that began in Turkey and ends in Manchester.

Little Amal is a 3.5m-tall puppet artwork of a young Syrian refugee created by the artists behind the War Horse puppets. She represents millions of child refugees and is on a journey across Europe like so many other children.

The Walk production is produced by world famous director Stephen Daldry. The production is fitting, now more than ever due to events taking place in Afghanistan in recent weeks.

The story of little Amal echoes that of millions of young refugees across the globe forced to flee their homes to escape danger.

Her story and journey raise awareness around the ongoing refugee crisis and the significant role played by children within it. By raising awareness of the length and difficulty of this journey, young refugees are given a voice.

Unfortunately, the story of little Amal is not an uncommon one, the recent news stories of refugees escaping Afghanistan have brought the plight of refugees to the forefront of public discussion.

Sadly a disproportionate number of refugees are children and they make up nearly half of the refugee population.

Good Chance are using art to relay an important message of refugee acceptance. Through drawing attention to Little Amal, they open the discussion on refugees.

It is easy to separate ourselves from refugees but they are simply vulnerable people seeking help and often, children separated from their families.

The origins of little Amal

The story of little Amal began in 2015 when Good Chance’s founders Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson visited the refugee camp of Calais.

Good Chance Theatre’s award-winning production, ‘The Jungle’, was based on the stories of loss, fear, community and hope experienced by the Calais refugees they saw there. ‘The Jungle’ used the character of Little Amal to represent the hundreds of unaccompanied minors in the Calais camp.

‘The Jungle’ was successful and helped to promote global conversations about refugees and our shared humanity. As a result of this success Good Chance felt that she could help more people, and hence ‘The Walk’ was born.

The Walk is a travelling production that is a celebration of art and hope that features little Amal at the forefront. Little Amal is now travelling across Europe spreading her message further.

The Walk is a powerful opportunity to foster humanity, equality and unity. These principles are crucial if we want to build a better, fairer and more peaceful world.

How to get involved

Initiating conversations about refugees is important in raising awareness. One of the ways that you can help is by talking to friends and family about the refugee crisis.

• Research a bit more about refugees
• Ask your children what they already know about refugees
• Fill in the gaps in their knowledge and learn together

If you and your children want to get more involved you can participate online by thinking of acts of welcome and posting them online, whether it be a poem, painting or song.

Share your creativity by posting your act of welcome and tagging @walkwithamal #littleamal #actsofwelcome