Libya: Musicians for the first time on national radio

Three weeks earlier, guitarist Fuad Ramadan could have been arrested for performing most of his songs in public. Now he is for the first time invited to perform live on national radio, reported the American public service radio NPR

Musicians and other Libyans who once dared not express themselves are finding a new outlet on the country’s newly freed radio stations.

Fuad Ramadan had been waiting for this moment, “where we could actually speak to the world and tell them how we feel,” he told NPR

“We used to go and gather at Hamed’s place,” he explained:

“We used to go there without telling anybody, of course. Anybody could tell on you, and you could go beyond the sun. So, we used to gather, we used to make songs, we used to write together. And we were waiting for this moment, where we could actually speak to the world and tell them how we feel.”

NPR interviewed and photographed Fuad and his three collaegues from Tripoli while they were also being interviewed in the new Radio Libya. It was the first time his band had ever been invited to perform on the radio.