From Syria to Europe, a puppet's march to raise awareness of the plight of refugees

Performance of Hamlet in the Calais “jungle” by The Good Chance Theater company, at the origin of the marionette Amal (Image illustration).

AP - Thibault Camus

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

Leaving Gaziantep, this refugee camp on the border between Turkey and Syria, a giant puppet representing a child will travel for several months a whole journey in Europe, to arrive in November in Manchester, England.

The performance is called 

The Walk

, the march, and aims to change the views of citizens on exile and the plight of children.

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Six years ago, Claire Béjanin, president of The Good Chance Theater, an arts and theater center for refugees, met a little Syrian girl isolated in the 

“

jungle

” of Calais

. “ 

This little girl is called Amal, which means hope in Arabic. And she said nothing, she passed from arm to arm, we did not know who she was. What we knew was that she came from Syria and that she had lost her mother,

 ”explains Claire Béjanin, president of The Good Chance Theater.

Amal inspires artists with the idea of ​​a great march. Made by a South African company, a giant puppet 3.50 high, animated by three operators, will cross eight countries, welcomed at each stage by artists and groups of residents. The staging is done over 8,000 km, and the narrative is built with its joys and sorrows. “ 

It's not a Care Bears story at all. She will go through difficult times. In Bern, she arrives in this main square, which is a very peaceful square, and Amal wants to play in this square. And a window opens, with huge heads shouting him

:

"Go away, you're not from here."

You don't have the right to stay here and play,

 ”continues Claire Béjanin.

Part of

Gaziantep

, Amal will arrive in Manchester in November, passing through Greece, Italy, Switzerland and France.

A stage is also planned in Strasbourg, as well as a meeting with members of the European Commission.

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