A sizable crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to welcome Little Amal, a 12-foot-tall puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian girl representing refugees and unaccompanied minors in search of a better future.
DAVID LAN
Producer, “The Walk” Project
“There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of young people who are now refugees for no reason that they chose, because of war or because of persecution, because of climate change, who are just looking for a way to make a new life.”
CARD. MICHAEL CZERNY, SJ
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
“The difference between Amal and the many many unaccompanied minors among us is that she's over three meters tall, and so she cannot be overlooked; whereas so many minors are unaccompanied, without support. And basically Amal is saying to us, 'I'm looking for my family. Will you give me a hand?'”
Little Amal is the protagonist of “The Walk,” a project spearheaded by the Good Chance Theatre Company. Since July, she has been making her way from the Syria-Turkey border to Manchester, with the hope of being reunited with her family. Hers is a story shared by countless refugees from different parts of the world.
CARD. MICHAEL CZERNY, SJ
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
“Amal, who is Syrian—but could have easily been Afghani, but she could also be Venezuelan, and she could also be from many other countries—give her a hand. That's the message, and don't worry about where they came from. What we need to do is help them to get to where they should be, which is to grow up as full and happy human beings.”
Little Amal, a creation of the Handspring Puppet Company, will complete her journey in November, reminding people along the way of the difficult plight of those who have been forced to leave their homes.
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