Little Amal is the giant puppet at the heart of The Walk. She has travelled 8,000 km in support of refugees.

In 2021, the 3.5 metre-tall living artwork of a young Syrian refugee child walked across Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the UK to focus attention on the urgent needs of young refugees. ‘Little Amal’ is not so little at 3.5m high. Find out more about how she operated on her journey from her creators Handspring Puppet Company.

Now Little Amal’s story has become an odyssey of epic proportions as she has been brought to breath-taking life as a giant puppet made by War Horse creators Handspring Puppet Company.

We followed Little Amal’s remarkable journey from Gaziantep near the Turkey-Syria border to Manchester in the UK. As she walked, she brought light to the stories of the millions of young refugees who are displaced – and the many who are forced to risk arduous journeys for the chance at a better life.

She walked for all the children – many unaccompanied and separated from their families – who are forced to undertake extraordinary journeys under life-threatening conditions. Little Amal walked so that we didn’t forget them.

“At a time when public debate is so polarised, and safe and legal routes for refugees are being closed down, art has a critical role to play in changing the conversation and bringing people together. We hope that The Walk will shed new light on the journeys refugees are forced to take and galvanise support for a world where everyone seeking asylum has access to a safe passage.”

Beth Gardiner-Smith

All along the route, communities were offered a simple idea: Little Amal is a 9-year-old girl whose journey takes her through your town, city or village. How will you welcome her?

As each locality responded with cultural events that were meaningful to them, the result built an artistic odyssey that showed something profound about ourselves, about how we live and about what we mean by home.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday at noon at the Main Railway Station in Przemyśl. The walk will end at the Old Town Square. All inhabitants of Przemyśl are invited.