Kaleidoscope - Welcoming Little Amal

Yesterday Little Amal arrived in Birmingham and I, among several hundred others, was there to welcome her. 

For those who don't know, Little Amal is a not-so-little puppet of a child refugee. The brainchild of Good Chance Theatre company, she has journeyed from the Syria-Turkey border, through Europe, heading towards her final destination in Manchester early next week. In Arabic, Amal means Hope.

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The Birmingham welcome event was in Erdington, a fairly non-descript, ordinary suburb of north Birmingham, in a somewhat rundown shopping centre.

But that rundown shopping centre where the stage was set for this act of welcome had been lovingly transformed into a vibrant community space where the whole world was made welcome. A place of music and movement; of conversation and connection; of laughter and life.

There were brummies born and bred; possibly / probably even those who had lived their whole lives in that particular little corner of the city. There were those who had arrived within recent weeks: I know this, because via Birch we intentionally invited some of the newly-arrived families who are living in initial accommodation here. There was everybody in between.

There were those with lived experience of seeking asylum and those who have long been committed to trying to make them feel welcome. There were those who knew nothing of the whats and whys and wherefore who were just there, because there was where they were. There was everybody in between.

And there was Amal.

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I had a couple of different responsibilities, including the huge privilege to be invited, as part of the welcome, together with two delightful Syrian teenagers, to perform a poem from the Stories of Hope and Home poetry book. I was trying to keep track of quite a few different people and catch up with various friends. I had moments of being busy and distracted and preoccupied.

But I was also glad to take the time to pause, and to look up.

And there was Amal.

Meeting her was a powerful and strangely moving experience. I use "her" intentionally: a carved wooden puppet she may be, but it somehow feels impossible not to acknowledge her humanity. I know I am not alone in sensing something of this, something intangible and hard to express. I heard several people comment on how it felt when she "looked" at them, looked with wooden, unseeing eyes, and yet, and yet. 

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Thank you Erdington.

This kaleidoscope of colour. This tapestry of stories. This unexpected beauty.

This is the Birmingham I love. This is the Birmingham that welcomed little Amal. This is the Birmingham that welcomed me. This is the Birmingham I trust to welcome others too.

https://www.walkwithamal.org/

http://www.erdingtonlocal.com/news-hundreds-welcome-little-amal-to-erdington-as-a-community-of-sanctuary/