08 Aug Little Amal: Çeşme

Within the scope of The Walk project, Little Amal, a 3.5-metre-tall puppet representing a 9-year-old Syrian refugee girl, came together with children from Turkey and Syria at K2 Urla Breathing Space on Thursday, 5 August 2021 and did T’ai Chi Ch’uan and then hip hop in cooperation with Open Studio. Little Amal was offered one of the Syrian desserts from the book ‘Baharat’, which includes recipes from Turkish and Syrian cuisine, prepared by IOM Turkey United Nations Migration Organisation, in case she missed it. Little Amal watched the programme specially prepared for her by Remote Theater Project in Portland (USA) with a live connection on a big screen. Young refugees living in Portland read the letters they wrote to Little Amal, while musicians from Kinan Azmeh’s City Band and Portland Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by Pihcintu Multinational Immigrant and Refugee Girls’ Chorus, performed traditional Syrian music and a piece composed for Amal.

Little Amal completed her Turkey route on Sunday evening, 8 August, accompanied by children and families who came to see her off in Çeşme. In Çeşme, the last stop of her two-week journey in Turkey, Amal walked towards the sea through an installation of donated shoes created by K2 Contemporary Art Centre to represent those who passed through the city during the refugee crisis and those who lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea while crossing to the opposite shore at Sağlık Beach on Musalla 1108th Street, and bid farewell to Turkey for her next stop in Greece. The event ended with a farewell concert by Syrian DJ OM.EL BEAT. Ekrem Oran, Mayor of Çeşme, was among those who came to see off little Amal.

Produced by Stephen Daldry, David Lan, Tracey Seaward and Naomi Webb, The Walk is a collaboration between UK-based theatre company Good Chance Theatre and Handspring Puppet Company, creators of War Horse, one of the world’s leading puppet companies. Amir Nizar Zuabi was the artistic director of The Walk, a travelling festival of art and hope. The Turkish producers of the project were Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) and culture manager Recep Tuna.

Little Amal travelled 8,000 kilometres between 27 July and 4 November, crossing the borders of 8 countries on her journey to find her mother. Amal’s journey started in Turkey and ended in Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and then the United Kingdom.

As a symbol of the millions of refugee children who have been separated from their families and displaced, Little Amal has been welcomed in every village, town and city she has visited by artists and civil society organisations with public, intimate arts and culture events.

https://www.walkwithamal.org/tr/