Little Amal Comes to Egleston Square
This past Saturday, Company One Theater and The Walk Productions brought Little Amal, the 12 foot puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee child, to Egleston Square.
On his Instagram, Egleston neighbor Zack DeClerk wrote, “Little Amal made a stop in our neighborhood as she walks across the U.S. from Boston to San Diego. Little Amal has traveled thousands of miles across 15 countries, spreading a message of empathy and hope for refugee children and other displaced people.”
The event started with a puppetmaking workshop for all ages at Egleston Square Branch Library led by artist and community activist Barrington Edwards. Then a crowd of neighbors and visitors joined Little Amal along with School of HONK! for a musical walk through the neighborhood to Franklin Park.
Little Amal’s journeys are produced by The Walk Productions in association with Handspring Puppet Company and local producers, artists and partners.
We heard this from neighbors who attended: “I was there! Amazing and incredible feeling of peace.” “It was one of the greatest events I’ve seen in Egleston and Franklin Park.”
Want to support refugees and migrants in Boston and beyond? Scroll below the photos to see a comprehensive list of resources and action items compiled by Company One.
Photos below by Luis E. Cotto
Company One shares this list of resources and action Items to support refugees and migrants in Boston and beyond:
- Demand a Massachusetts Immigration Agenda!
- The MIRA Coalition’s State Legislative Priorities for 2023-2024 include the Language Access and Inclusion Act, the Safe Communities Act, and the Cover All Kids Act, and other initiatives that strengthen immigrant rights and inclusion in Massachusetts. Contact your legislator today and ask them to co-sponsor these crucial bills!
- Learn more about how to support refugees in Boston
- Last year, Massachusetts welcomed 2,800 new refugees, with 1,300 settling in the Greater Boston Area. Learn more about them, how to help, and available services through the Office of Immigrant Advancement.
- Support the Southeast Asian Relief & Responsibility (SEARR) Campaign
- The SEARR Campaign continues a decades-long effort to free the Southeast Asian community from generational cycles of displacement and heal communities from this collective trauma.
- Make a Welcome Blanket
- Handcraft makers (knit, sew, quilt, crochet, weave, felt, etc.) can make Welcome Blankets, symbolic and practical gifts of welcome for new refugees coming to the United States. People from ages 4-104, a wide range of immigration/migration histories, and all levels of craftiness have participated as makers for the project.
- Volunteer with The Welcome Project
- The Welcome Project seeks community-based volunteer teachers and one-on-one tutors to teach English for speakers of other languages. Both novice and experienced teachers are welcomed and invited to join us in advocating for the rights of our community.
- Read about the refugee experience
- Check out BPL’s curated list of books in honor of World Refugee Day or the Libraries without Borders list of books in partnership with The Walk to find some new titles to illuminate the immigrant and refugee experience
- Donate to The Massachusetts Migrant Families Relief Fund
- The fund was created, in partnership with The Boston Foundation and United Way of Massachusetts Bay, to address the acute humanitarian crisis faced by migrants seeking asylum in Massachusetts, and to support the local, trusted community-based organizations directly serving new arrivals in our region.