Little Amal: Coventry welcomes a giant refugee puppet to the city

Image caption, Large crowds gathered outside the Coventry Transport Museum to welcome Little Amal

Coventry has welcomed a giant baby puppet into the city as it approaches the end of a 5,000-mile hike from Syria to “rewrite the refugee narrative.”

A crowd of people greeted the 3.5 m (11.5 ft) puppet, called Little Amal, in the city center on Wednesday afternoon.

Image caption, The crowd grew as Little Amal made her way to Coventry city center

Little Amal represents a nine-year-old girl traveling, in a project called The Walk.

The puppet, whose name means “hope” in Arabic, began his 8,000km journey in Gaziantep, Turkey, on July 27 and traveled through Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and France.

Image caption, Stephen Daldry, one of the producers of The Walk, said it was called “possibly the most ambitious public art project ever attempted”

Image caption, Little Amal was built by the Handspring Puppet Company, which previously made the equine stars of the stage version of War Horse

Image caption, Producer Tracey Seaward said it will provide “great potential to rewrite the refugee narrative”

Organizers said the goal was to shed light on the stories of the millions of displaced refugee children it represents.

Coventry, the current City of Culture, known as a city of peace and reconciliation, is thought to house around 1,500 people seeking refuge.

Image caption, The organizers were surprised by the size of the crowd in Coventry, the parade was only supposed to last 30 minutes, but lasted over an hour

Image caption, Julia came to the UK from Kenya

Julia, who arrived in Coventry from Kenya, said: “Amal is symbolic for many of us.

“I don’t think people understand survival until they’re in a situation. You think ‘why are you running? Why can’t you go to the police?’

“Sometimes it’s not a choice you have when you’re just an ordinary person.”

Image caption, The puppet, formed by a body in shaped cane and head, arms and legs in carbon fiber, is maneuvered by three people: one on a pair of stilts inside his body and two others next to them who move their arms

Image caption, There was a carnival atmosphere on Broadgate as Little Amal was surrounded by hundreds of supporters

Image caption, Young people carrying signs supporting Little Amal’s walk through Europe stood next to the puppet

Image caption, There is a total team of 11 puppeteers, including two from refugee backgrounds

After Coventry, Little Amal will visit Birmingham, Sheffield and Barnsley before the 14-week traveling street theater concludes in Manchester on 3 November.