Jessie Reyez Takes Aim at U.S. Immigration Policies in “Far Away” Video
Written by SOURCE on October 5, 2019
Jessie Reyez shares the powerful visual for “Far Away,” a track that addresses the harsh realities facing many immigrants across the country.
Directed by Peter Huang, the video shows Reyez being torn from a love interest who is taken away during an ICE raid. The images of cages, gun-wielding agents, and a lifeless body underscore the pain that is caused by the immigration policies under the Trump administration.
“I feel like I need you tonight beside me/You’re still a world away,” Reyez sings. “And you’re still waitin’ for your papers/Been feelin’ like the government wants us to break up.”
Reyez, a Colombian-Canadian artist, Reyez encourages listeners to visit her official website to learn more about the organizations that aim to combat the U.S. immigration crisis. The singer also accompanied the record/video release with the following statement:
Attachment. Attachment to someone is both something beautiful and something painful. Imagine finally finding your home in another human being but they’re stuck on the other side of this rock we’re all on. You’re left wanting nothing more than a hug—their hug—that simultaneously feels like a pillow and a drug. Somehow when they hurt, you hurt, when they smile, you smile. This is love suspended in animation, before it’s tainted by reality (because eventually all hearts break again) but in this moment, neither of you are running from one another—it’s only water and borders and God keeping you apart. Water and borders and God keeping you from home. This is pre-heart break; when both sets of lungs are still working and when you miss them and they miss you back- and you feel each other even when you’re far away.
You can watch the “Far Away” video above. The song will appear on Reyez’s much-anticipated debut album, set to drop in 2020.
