Little Amal: a Symbolic Puppet, The Problematisation of Immigration and the Rhetoric of Islamophobia

Abstract

The Walk featured a 3.5m tall puppet named Little Amal walking across Europe to raise awareness of the plight of refugees and displaced children. While warmly welcomed in more than 60 villages, towns and cities, this article centres on the handful of locations where instead of celebration Little Amal was met with hostility. In doing so, this article begins with a detailed overview of the rationale behind The Walk and Little Amal. From here, it continues by reflecting on the hostility expressed towards Little Amal in three geographical locations: Greece, France and the UK. Investigating and unpacking both the perceived and actual contributing factors – the social, political and so on – this article goes on to draw on existing scholarly literatures to frame and contextualise the hostility encountered. In conclusion, this article posits that the hostility directed towards Little Amal was neither without precedent nor should it have been unexpected.