Penitentiary System, Bluefields, Nicaragua
August 14 2008
To: My Friends, Teenagers from abroad
From: Jose Ramon
Hello friends! Here's a warm greeting from me—May God Almighty bless you greatly! My biggest wish is that you are very well, in unity with all those who surround you. Let me tell you a little about my life, from my heart, that I'd like to share with you.
Since I was one, I grew up with my grandmother (my father's mother) because my father gave me to her, because he did not love my mother, and my mother was a very young girl and could not do anything to take care of me. Since then, after leaving my mother, I was raised as the son of my grandmother, and called her “Mom” because I did not know about my past. But over time, my grandmother's kids started beating me, and told me that I was not a their brother, but that I was just “picked up”. I felt really bad about what they said, but did not believe them until I realized the truth, though I continued to ignore it. From the time I was very young until I was 12 years old, my life was really bad, though I guess not so bad because I'm still alive...But yes, I've suffered a lot. At age 12, I started to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, but that didn't last too long because we moved from here to Costa Rica. There, I started going to school, and finished elementary school. Then my grandmother died, and I came back to my country. I arrived here in Bluefields, where I am right now, and after about six months of living here, I was arrested by the police, without really realizing what had happened, and now I am sentenced to six years in prison, which has been really hard on me. I was in jail, without hope that anyone would visit me, or that anyone would speak up for me. But I decided to accept this judgement and confront it, not negatively, but instead I started to think and analyze things and I came to the conclusion that I wasn't alone in this, but that God was here with me, and that I could continue forward. I'm not the only teenager that is here—there are others who are going through the same thing and are trying to improve their way of thinking. Thank God, I've been meeting with a group of people from the outside...meeting to praise God...and this has given me strength and a will to move forward, struggling to achieve a better life for God, with God's help.
Here, where I am, is not a good place to be...neither for myself nor for the other teens...because the resources don't exist to give us better treatment. Here we are all mixed in with the adult prisoners, but I guess they are trying to give us the best treatment they can. The other teenagers and I stay in a cell apart from the rest. We have a television, and we go out to play soccer twice a day, three days a week. We are also painting a mural, and we participate in discussions to help us improve our attitudes. I'm also studying, so that I can be someone in this life.
I feel good about having come here, in the sense that I have learned many things here...how to praise God, how to play guitar, how to share, etc. What's more, I got to meet my mother, the one who gave birth to me, and my brothers, about whom I didn't know anything before. This is how I have spent my life, and have distracted myself from my situation by busying myself with something positive. And I do not want to continue to misbehave, but instead, I want to be a new person in the way I think and act, so that my family can see that though I was in jail for bad behavior, I have will leave jail a changed man. Because soon, I will be released, with God's help.
A little about me...
Let me share a little about what I'm like. I am short in stature, medium light-skinned, with black hair, and brown eyes. I am sincere about 90% of the time. I am friendly, someone who shares, an observer, amiable and good at sharing. I love to help others in whatever way that I can, to play football, to sing songs to God, and to play guitar and behave well.
I would like to share more, but that will be for another time, if the opportunity presents itself. To whomever may read this, I hope that you have liked it, and perhaps it has helped you in some way. In closing, I'd like to suggest that you try, no, fight to not be negative, because God does not want us to be unhappy, nor do we want that for ourselves. So obey your parents, and those who are helping you, and have taken an interest in helping you.
May things go well for you in life, in your beautiful country. Pour your heart into it!
May God keep you!
-- Jose Ramon
Hi! My name is Arden Alen Calben.
First of all I hope that you are in very good health, and are in the company of family and friends.
After this short and warm greeting, I want to share with you a bit of my short life. I am a young person, at 17 years old. I live in Nicaragua, in the Southern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) Central America. I was born in a place called Bluefields.
I am serving time in jail because I made a mistake, that I should never have made. The laws sentenced me to five years in prison. I have only just barely fulfilled one year and two months of my sentence.
At 8 years old, I started hanging out on the streets with some friends who were doing some bad things, which they shouldn't do. My poor mother was a wreck, and felt very bad about what I was doing, but I didn't listen to her advice. She always told me, "Son, stop going around doing those things," and reminding me that I was going to end up hurt, or I was going to end up in jail. But I kept hanging out with the same bad friends and doing the same things, and now I'm in jail, and I'm very sorry for not having listened to my mother, who loves me so much. I didn't not know how to appreciate her love, so pure and invaluable. Now I can't do anything but wait for the day I'll be free, and change my life, my attitudes and especially my way of thinking, including the kinds of friendships and relationships I have.
Now, my goal is to enjoy every happy moment with my mother and my father, with all my siblings and the rest of family, everything that comes my way. I wish I could stop time, to enjoy all those times that have now passed. I am very sad to be in this prison—living here is not a good life for a teenager of my age. I will continue patiently waiting for my release order.
At the very least, I will continue to participate in the talks that people come here to give or to share with us, with me and my friends here in this prison system, where I have spent so much of my life. This is what little I want to share with you: For me it is a privilege and a pleasure to have written to you. I recommend that you behave well and obey your parents, so that what happened to me doesn't happen to you. Keep moving forward, and support those who lead discussions with you, and think positive. Many hugs and peace.
See you soon, and thank you.
No comments:
Post a Comment