Little Amal walks to the UK

Arriving in the British port of Folkestone, a giant puppet has completed her 8,000 kilometres walk from Turkey. The mannequin is named Little Amal after an uprooted Syrian girl of the same name. She’s representative of 33 million displaced children worldwide who, forced to flee their homes have embarked upon treacherous journeys, often unaccompanied.

Part of an international art event ‘The Walk’, Little Amal’s arrival in several countries along her arduous route, has been celebrated with joyful, cultural performances.

Unfortunately, the sad truth is that not all refugees are hailed as heroes after navigating perilous journeys to safety. Welcoming Little Amal and showing support for the cause, celebrities such as actor Jude Law hope to throw the spotlight on the plight of child refugees.

Jude Law: "It just seemed the most brilliant way to celebrate, try and raise awareness and share with the people who have taken a similar path to little Amal. So I'm just here to support all of that and I'm really proud to be one of the first to welcome her here in the UK, which is my home."

Standing at 3.5 metres tall, Little Amal is the brainchild of the Handspring Puppet Company. Under the artistic direction of Amir Nizar Zubai, this art installation has put the spotlight on an unfolding global human crisis.

Kevin Fitzmaurice: "Amal, she is an art project at heart really, but I think the artists who have designed and built her and designed the whole project, I think it's really important for them that the humanitarian issues don't get forgotten in the political noise that's going on across the country and across the world at the moment."

Fittingly, Amal can be translated as 'hope' in Arabic. And by way of celebrating her reaching her milestone 10th birthday in London, an Amal Fund has been launched by the organisers of ‘The Walk’ to give displaced children like Little Amal, opportunities for a brighter future. View Less