12-foot-tall puppet Little Amal brings message of Syrian refugee girl to Michigan

In what the creators call one of the largest public art events ever created, a 12-foot-tall puppet depicting a Syrian refugee girl wrapped up the Michigan portion of its U.S. tour Wednesday, telling a unique story at each stop along the way.

Little Amal, a puppet depicting a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, has visited about 15 countries and is currently on a 6,000-mile tour across the United States. Her most recent stop, Detroit, concluded the Michigan portion of her journey, which also included Ann Arbor, Ferndale, Flint and Dearborn. With each stop, a unique story was told along with local community partners.

Khadijat Oseni, associate artistic director of the not-for-profit company The Walk, said they are responsible for bringing the "girl," while event partners tailor it toward the specific community.

“We co-create and co-design with our local partners because we don’t know what is important to people that are living in Mexicantown and Detroit at large, so they help us," Oseni said. “We advise how Amal best thrives in the scenario and they bring the community, the stories and the touchpoints that would resonate with what new conversations they're trying to have on the ground in their communities.”

David Lan, of London, and a producer of "The Walk," said they had many locations to choose from for the visit. However, they tried to plan a route to allow for a broad range of American experiences from major cities to small towns.

Little Amal, whose name means "hope" in Arabic, was inspired by a production of Lan's titled "The Jungle." The play is about a refugee camp and features primarily adult characters; however, there's a portion where a young Syrian refugee girl appears.

Oseni said Little Amal was displaced from her mother, and the original walk was Amal's attempt to find her.

“The original walk started in 2021 and she journeyed across Europe in hopes of being reunited with her mother," she said. "Through that experience of going through 65 different cities and interacting with everyone from the public to youth leaders, civic leaders, artists ... it was apparent that there were so many different stories and reasons why people have to migrate or seek better life and situation, and the word refugee, there’s a larger breath than what is portrayed in the media."

Lan continued, saying Little Amal's character has developed and changed over time. “She’s acquired her character from her experiences."

Lan was inspired to create the project after learning about people's lived experiences as refugees.

“The idea came from meeting people over the years who have made these extraordinary journeys in Europe," he said. Lan said he has met refugees from Turkey, Ukraine, Syria and other countries. They are often people "looking for a place where they could protect their families" as they feel unsafe in their home country.

A large number of refugees are children, hence the depiction of a young girl for the project. According to The Walk's website, half of all refugees are children, and half of those children have lost the opportunity for a formal education.

"Amal represents all displaced communities around the world, particularly children," said Oseni. “It was clear that this was a very strong mirror and people could interpret their stories through her as a medium that connects community and reconnects people to their humanity and the exercise of just sitting in each other’s stories and shared space and building that empathy muscle and making hope practice, essentially.”

The not-for-profit company The Walk Productions started The Amal Fund to provide support to refugee children. In partnership with the nonprofit organization Choose Love, which provides humanitarian aid to refugee populations across the world, the target goal for the fund is $5 million. Along with emergency provisions, donations will support the educational and training support for young refugees, helping to rebuild their future.

"The walk is a celebration of art, hope, and shared humanity that aims to unite communities and refocus attention on the urgent needs of refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers, and to highlight the rich cultures and contributions immigrants bring with them," the release said.

With each visit, Amal tells a unique story and interacts with the local community in different ways. One Detroit event, titled "Take a seat," took place at the Bagley Pedestrian Bridge and partnered with Sofa Stories, Detroit Public Theatre and Matrix Theatre Company. Starting near La Gloria Bakery, Little Amal, operated by three puppeteers, crossed the bridge with a large crowd following, before concluding at the Matrix Theatre Company. Along the way, Amal interacted with many people, including families of diverse backgrounds. At the end, the community broke out in song and dance.

While this plot line showcased a happy ending, not all are quite as positively focused.

“It’s important that we leave with hope, but stories can be very complicated too. As long as you’re breathing, there’s always a sense of optimism no matter how fleeting it might be and we always try to be honest about that," Oseni said. "We do want people to have a moment of contemplation, reflection, joy, and just running the gamut of human emotions."

Oseni said one of the things she enjoys most about the tour is the reaction she sees from children, and she was pleasantly surprised when visiting Dearborn recently.

“That natural wonder and curiosity is really special to always see, and they welcome her like she is one of them which is pretty exciting," she said. "We were in Dearborn yesterday. There were over a thousand kids, and they were just screaming 'Amal, Amal,' they made signs. It’s also seeing how the community reflects the creativity back and their investment in her finding a home is always special to hear when I’m roaming through the crowds.”

Amal's journey across America began in Boston on Sept. 7 and will conclude in San Diego on Nov. 5. Over 100 free public events are offered to welcome her as she travels 6,000 miles to 40 differing locations. Amal's next stop is in Chicago.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Little Amal, 12-foot-tall puppet of refugee girl, visits Michigan