Little Amal, a giant puppet depicting a young Syrian refugee child, performs in Naples' Piazza del Plebiscito, Italy, September 9, 2021. Created by the Handspring Puppet Company, the puppet is on 8,000 kilometer journey from the border of Syria in support of refugees. /CFP

This 3.5-meter-tall puppet, after traveling from Syria to Turkey, Greece and Italy, will then "walk" her way to France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the UK," seeking her mother and safety." /CFP

Four puppeteers animate Little Amal. There is one for each arm, one for her back and one inside her body. The person inside walks on stilts and operates a contraption called "the harp," a complex system of strings that control the puppet's facial expressions. /CFP

Designed as part of a project called "The Walk" that is aimed at raising awareness of the difficulties faced by child refugees, Little Amal is said to be based on a character from UK-based Good Chance Theatre and their production called "The Jungle," a play about the Calais refugee camp in France. In the story, Amal is a 9-year-old Syrian refugee from the city of Aleppo searching for her mother. /CFP