She met Pope Francis.
She delivered letters to the European Parliament.
She has been to 14 countries.
She provides hope for millions of refugees all over the world.
She is Amal, a 12-foot puppet depicting a 10-year-old Syrian refugee. On Oct. 4, Amal stopped in Memphis where she was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd downtown.
The Little Amal Project began in 2021, the brainchild of producers David Lan and Tracey Seaward, who created the project to rewrite the narrative surrounding child refugees and spread positive messages about the contributions immigrants make to communities.
Child refugees’ voices and experiences are rarely discussed, but the Little Amal Project tries to change that.
The 12-foot tall puppet with long brown hair continued downtown, visiting sites like the Lorraine Motel — the infamous spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and the current site of the National Civil Rights Museum — and finished by stopping at the Orpheum Theatre and the newly renovated Tom Lee Park.
Speaking at the welcome event, Raily Henry, the great-great-granddaughter of sanitation striker Jesse Smith, connected Memphis’ history with the needs of today.
“In the culture of love, we pay for the sins of the past, we think about the people left behind, the people held back and the people that we ignored and even the people that need the help most of all,” she said. “In this culture of love, even our institutions, systems and governments are [bound] by sacred commitment to undying love.”
Amal’s Walk and the sanitation strike share a starting point, but Hasan emphasized that they also share a message: “Don’t forget about us.”
“We start[ed] down the same street with the same messaging for Amal, for our children and for all of us,” she said. “We all deserve to be seen in the fullness of our humanity and seen as valuable, worthy and part of community. And that just sends me to a place of goodness.”
It’s that fullness of humanity that guides her emphasis on recognizing young people. Hasan said she felt the majority of the news about Memphis teenagers tends to depict them negatively, but that Amal’s message could change this stereotype.
“The message is that Amal and refugees like her all bring possibilities to communities and not just problem,” she said. “We feel like Memphis children have similar messages.”
To make this idea visible, organizers turned to innovative puppeteer Jeghetto to create a “Memphis girl” puppet named Imani to represent the youth of Memphis by walking alongside Amal on her journey across the city.
Standing approximately eight-feet tall, the Imani puppet features a face made of cardboard, green fairy wings and a blue tutu. She clutches a teddy bear.
Anasa Troutman, the executive director at Clayborn Temple, introduced Imani to the crowd that assembled for Amal’s Walk.
“Imani represents all the Black children in our community, and they walk together to be able to tell us that our young people do not bring problems, they bring possibilities,” she said.
Preparations for the welcome event began weeks in advance, with organizations such as Bridges USA and the Brooks Museum inviting young people from all over the city to create their own puppets using yarn, buttons and other craft materials to represent themselves.
Freshman and Bridge Builder Gemma Ferguson, who participated in making a puppet for Amal’s visit, said she appreciated the focus on getting youth involved in the process.
“I think it’s really cool,” she said. “They said that their goal was to get a bunch of kids to be there. Because it’s one thing for grownups to be there. But it’s another for kids to be showing their support. And like, showing that they know what it is, [that they know] what it means.”
