“Met in Europe by razor wires/ Governments here fucking liars/ Desperate people who need to flee/ Seeking refuge by land and sea/ Push for borders, get no peace/ Fuck the police.” These are the opening lyrics of Pussy Riot’s newest song Refugees In. The powerfully punk track was penned in just two days following the Paris terror attacks. Its video premiered on Noisey this morning alongside a long-form interview and statement about the global refugee crisis from Pussy Riot ringleader Nadya Tolokonnikova.
The video footage was shot during the group’s explosive performance at Banksy’s Dismaland in September. The park was a dastardly, dystopian version of Disney World which operated between late August and September and saw appearances by Run the Jewels, Savages and Sleaford Mods. Pussy Riot’s finale set featured a performance component in which the group remained in a cage while riot police played out a violent clash behind them. It was the group’s first live performance at an official event rather than in protest spaces like Moscow’s Red Square. Nadya told Noisey, the show was “as important as losing your virginity, and we gave ourselves to Banksy.”
When it was dismantled following the Pussy Riot finale, Dismaland’s salvageable timber and materials were donated to construct refugee shelters in Calais, where Pussy Riot will be traveling next month to aid these construction efforts. “When you see how people can really join their efforts in difficult situation you improve your believe in people, believe in solidarity,” Nadya told Noisey.
Although the group hasn’t abandoned its fight against prison labor injustice in its homeland (over the summer, Nadya was wrongly held in protective custody following a sewing machine protest she helped organize), Pussy Riot’s new track is a strong reminder of their power as a truly global force. “Pussy Riot is now recording several pieces of music, the main idea is to oppose the right-wing conservative curtain that seems to be falling globally, no longer just affecting Russia but countries across Europe and the US,” the band said in a press release. “Neo-fascist parties in Europe, Donald Trump in the US, the rise of Germany’s AfD; it’s fucking scary. And it’s the reason iit’s the time to be loud and proud of your feminist, LGBTQ and pro-refugees values.”
Credits
Text Emily Manning