Life in Ireland with DJ Ram My name is Ramadan Betta-mer, but my nickname is Ram. That’s why I’m known as DJ Ram. I come from Libya – a place called Benghazi, which is the second city in Libya. So how did I wind up in Ireland? Let me tell you the story.
When I left college in Libya back in the 1980s, I got an opportunity to go abroad and study as an aircraft engineer. It’s a great job to have. I have a brother in the same industry, he’s a pilot, and my Dad said at the time: ‘What’s the point of having two pilots in the family? Why don’t you study engineering?’
Soon an opportunity came up with Arab Airlines, who were looking to recruit Libyans as they had been relying on foreign labour. But first I would have to train, so I was sent to Britain.
Of course before I could start my training, I had to improve my English, since all of my training would be through English. I knew some English, but it wasn’t great, so I went to learn the language at the Anglo-Continental School in Bournemouth. I spent six months studying there, and stayed with an English family.
Bournemouth is a great city, and my English really improved while I was there. Up till then I still didn’t know that I’d be going to Ireland – but that’s where the training was.
It was 1983 when I travelled to Dublin, where Aer Lingus had classes available to train me based at the airport. I specialised in radio and radar, and for four years I studied theory and practice in aircraft engineering, with exams every three weeks! The funding for my training was provided by the Libyan government, because they needed people to go abroad and study and return with skills to help the Libyan economy.
I continued my training until 1987, but the US bombing of Libya made it difficult to go home. The longer I spent abroad, the less funding I was getting from the Libyan authorities. At this time the political situation in Libya was changing dramatically and that made it impossible for a lot of people like me to go back and contribute to the country.
At that point I had to make some harsh decisions. Now I had to rely on my own resources in a foreign country. After spending four years in Ireland, I’d made a lot of friends, almost like a family to me, and they were a great support.
Two weeks after I finished my training at the airport, I found myself working in a take-away restaurant. In this country it’s who you know that helps, and that’s what kept me going.
Back then I lived in Santry in north Dublin, and I knew all the neighbours – even the kids knew me. Getting involved in the local karate club also helped me increase my contacts. Back then it was a novelty to know a black person in Dublin. We were looked upon in a positive light because we weren’t refugees or asylum seekers – we had real qualifications to offer, and we had money.
Initially coming from Libya to England there was a big change in my life, a culture shock. In England the standard of living was great. But moving from there to Ireland was different. Britain was, and still is, somewhat more advanced than Ireland.
Some of my colleagues went back to England at that stage because they couldn’t hack it here. This was at a time when Ireland was poor. We didn’t know how much things would change a few years later.
DJ Ram, originally from Libya, is a DJ and proprietor of the Dublin-based reggae music store In Dub
