Giant Syrian Refugee Puppet Little Amal Towers Over NYC on First U.S. Visit

Amidst the bustling travelers at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City on Wednesday lumbered Little Amal, a 12-foot tall Syrian refugee puppet who has traveled nearly 6,000 miles and has landed in the United States for the very first time.

Amal, a 10-year-old Syrian girl, has already traveled across Turkey and Europe, spreading a message of solidarity for those who are displaced as she ventures to search for her own family members, and her journey has finally brought her to the Big Apple.

On Wednesday, she was welcomed to the city by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, led by its music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and its children's chorus while she took in her new environment with curiosity and trepidation.

In a 17-day tour co-produced by The Walk Productions and St. Ann's Warehouse, Little Amal will walk all five boroughs of NYC, meeting up with artists, children, political leaders and groups, and New Yorkers from all different backgrounds to help highlight the experience of being a refugee. Fifty-five events will take place along her tour, bringing realism to her story and connecting her with many others who might have a similar story to tell.

Playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi, the Artistic Director of Little Amal Walks NYC, said in a press release that her coming to New York is symbolic of the millions of other refugees who have once made a similar journey.

"For immigrants and refugees around the world, New York is seen as a place of opportunity and promise—but there's a tension running through US history that suggests not everyone is welcome here," said Zuabi. "Amal will experience the wonder of New York and also the apprehension of arriving in a strange new place. This is a crucial moment to explore these themes. How will she be welcomed here? Who will do the welcoming?"

After leaving JFK on Wednesday, Amal strolled through the neighborhood of Jamaica, Queens, accompanied by young New Yorkers from the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning. On Thursday, Little Amal is set to explore Grand Central Terminal with music by the Resistance Revival Chorus before making her way to the New York Public Library.

Amal, whose name means "hope" in Arabic, is operated by at least four people and was designed by the Handspring Puppet Company. In 2021, after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Amal began her journey in Europe as a representation of the migrant crisis. She traveled through 12 different countries in the span of four months, where she stopped at several refugee camps, met Pope Francis, and received a message from her mother in spirit in England.

Before coming to New York, Little Amal traveled to Ukraine and Poland, visiting Ukrainian refugees who have been displaced after Russia's invasion began in February.

Newsweek reached out to the Handspring Puppet Company for additional comment.