This message pertains to a case of a young man whose lot (confinement) fell on the gloomy side of life. Although it was not our hope that Beniam’s life experiences would have led him to imprisonment, we gather as family and friends alike, of Beniam Tela (GDC ID 1230594), to express the deep love and hope we have for Beniam’s next stage of life. We anticipate the spiritual, personal and professional growth that awaits Beniam. This commonly shared sentiment has caused others to write a letter of appeal to the concerned Board of Pardons and Parole. Before we present our request we would like to respectfully and laconically state the case of the imprisoned below.

His Case:

Beniam Tela is one of us.  He was born and raised in Atlanta, following his parents’ arrival to the U.S. one year prior. He belongs to the local Eritrean community here including his mother, sister and brother: Leterufael, Jordanos, and Kubrom, respectively. Beniam was convicted of multiple felony charges that transpired in Bartow County, North Georgia several years ago when Beniam was only 23 years old. He is now serving time in state prison for these crimes, which he has learned tremendously from. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with an additional 10 years of probation to follow. To date, he has served over 4 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in the coming year, 2016, after having served one third of the required prison sentence. Beniam approaches his 31st birthday on November 4th, 2015 to be served in prison; this will be his 5th birthday lived as an unfree man. Beniam is yearning for the chance to show himself and others the power of God to affect real change. We pray that his 32nd birthday will be joyous and blessed occasion as we celebrate Beniam’s release.

Despite the emotional toll Beniam’s actions have caused the victims and their families, we are all relieved that no parties have endured physical harm. This hardship would have been all the more difficult to bear had there been any physical injuries. For this we are very fortunate.

Although we do not condone Beniam’s past actions in any shape or form, we do believe that equity would be rightly served if we thoughtfully consider the following irrefutable reasoning. The simple truth is that prisoners and free people are more alike than different: we all commit sins and injustices in varying capacities. When we see inmates as people that have made mistakes (committed crimes) instead of as criminals, different from “us” we take advantage of a valuable opportunity to uplift our fellow man and actively contribute to the betterment of society. We believe that the responsibility for change is not solely Beniam’s but we identify our roles in his journey towards positive change. We pray that you, likewise, see your role in facilitating change as it can propel Beniam much further than he could alone inside the confines of Dooly State Prison. As citizens of the global community are graciously given multiple chances by the Almighty on a daily basis to redeem themselves, the logical and valid rationale would be that perpetrators should also be given “a second chance” by weighing their actions not on the scale of vengeful verdict, but by the application of clemency, which ultimately and penitently results in behavioral correction.

Having underscored the aforementioned strongly held conviction, we would like to promulgate that Beniam now has served four years. According to Georgia law, Beniam is eligible for parole as early as 2016. As we humbly present our plea for parole release, we are requesting concerned compatriots to join us in signing the petition for acquittal upon serving the required period of time to become eligible for parole. Here is the link.  www.ipetitions.com/petiton/ben  It is time Beniam come home!

Please accept our heartfelt and sincere gratitude in advance for your thoughtful support.

Thank you again!

Beniam’s family and friends

ህጹጽ መጸዋዕታ

(www.ipetitions.com/petition/ben)

ርእሰ-ነገር፣- መንእሰይ ቢንያም፣ ካብ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ተፈቲሑ ምስ ስድራ-ቤቱ ንኽጽንበር ካልኣይ ዕድል ክወሃቦ ኣቤቱታ (petition) ንምቕራብ!

እዚ መልእኽቲ’ዚ፣ ንሓደ ኤርትራዊ መንእሰይ፣ ትዕድልቱ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ዝኾነ፣ ኣብ ድነ ጸልማት ዘጎልበቦ ኵርናዕ ናይ ህይወት ዝነብር ዘሎ ዝምልከት እዩ። ቢንያም ተድላ፣ (GDC ID 1230594)፣ ብኸምዚ ዝኣምሰለ ናይ ናይ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ህይወት ተመኩሮ ክሓልፍ እዩ ዝብል ፍጽም ትጽቢት ኣይነበረናን። ይኹን ደኣ እምበር፣ ንሕና ከም ቀረባ ቤተ-ሰብን የዕሩኹን፣ ኣብ ርእሲ ቢንያም ዘለና ዓሚቕ ፍቕርን፣ ቀጻሊ መደረኽ ናይ ህይወቱ እንታይ ክመስልን እዩ ዘለና ትጽቢት ንምግላጽ እዩ። ብሓቂ፣ ቢንያም ብመንፈሳውን ሰብኣውን ሞያውን ክዓቢ ትጽቢትና ልዑል እዩ። እዚ ኣብ መንጎና ዘሎ ናይ ሓባር ስምዒት፣ ካልኦት ጉዱሳት ናብ ዝምለክቶ ቦርድ ኣመኩሮን ቃለ-ፈጻምን ተመሳሳሊ ናይ ምሕጽንታ ደብዳበ ክጽሕፉ ደሪኽዎም እዩ። ቅድሚ ዘለና ጠለብ ምቕራብና፣ ምስ ምሉእ ኣኽብሮትን ብሕጽር ዝበለ መግለጺን ናይዚ ኣብ ታሕቲ ተዘርዚሩ ዘሎ ጉዳይ ናይዚ እሱር ክንገልጽ ንፈቱ።

ቢንያም ተድላ፣ ሓደ ካባና ኮይኑ፣ ስድራ-ቤቱ ናብ ኣምሪካ  ምስ መጽኡ፣ ሓደ ዓመት ምስ ጸንሑ እዩ ተወሊዱ። ቢንያም፣ ኣብ ከተማ ኣትላንታ ተወሊዱን ዓብዪን። ንሱን ኣደኡን ሓብቱን ሓዉን ማለት ወይዘሮ ለተርፊኤልን፣ የርዳኖስን ክብሮምን ኣካል’ዚ፣ ኣብዚ ኸባቢ’ዚ ዝርከብ ናይ ኤርትራውያን ኮሚንቲ እዮም። ቅድሚ ሓያለ ዓመታት፣ ቢንያም ወዲ 23 ዓመት ኣብ ዝንበረሉ ግዜ ኣብ ባርተው ካውንት፣ ከባቢ ሰሜናዊ ክፍሊ ጆርጅያ፣ ኣብ ሓያለ ገበናት ከም እተሳተፈ ዝተኣመነሉ ጉዳያት ግሁድ ኮነ። ከም ሳዕቤን ናይዚ ገበናት’ዚ፣ ኣብ ናይ ክፈለ-ግዝኣት ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ተዳጕኑ ይርከብ። ብርግጽ ክሳዕ ሕጂ ኣብቲ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ብዙሕ እዩ ተማሂሩ። ቤት-ፍርዲ ን15 ዓመታት፣ ተወሳኺ ኸኣ ንዓሰርተ ዓመታት ውንዙፍ-ፍርዲ ሂቡ ንኽእሰር እዩ በይንሉ። ቢንያም ኣብቲ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ክሳዕ ሕጂ ንልዕሊ ኣርባዕተ ዓመታት ጸኒሑ ኣሎ። ኣብ ዝመጽእ ናይ 2016 ዓ/ም/ፈ፣ ሓደ ሲሶ ናይ ናይ ፍርዱ ምስ ዛዘመ፣ ምሕረት ክሓትት ሕጋዊ መሰል ኣለዎ። ቢንያም ዓመታት ንእስነቱ ኣብቲ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ እናሓለፈ፣ ኣብ ዕለት 11-04-2016 ወዲ 31 ዓመት ክኸውን ይቀራረብ ኣሎ። ቢንያም፣ ኣብ ትሕቲ ቀይዲ ኮይኑ፣ ንሓሙሻይ ግዜኡ እዩ ዕለተ-ልደቱ ከብዕል። ኣብዚ ግዜ’ዚ ንሱ፣ እቲ ናይ ሓቂ ለውጢ ብኣምላኽ ዝረኸቦ ንገዛእ-ርእሱን ንኻልኦትን ከርኢ ድላይ ኣለዎ። ብሓቂ ቢንያም ካብ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ወጺኡ፣ መበል 32 ዓመተ ልደቱ፣ ክንጽብል መዓልቲ ሓጎስን ዝተባረኸ ኣጋጣሚን ክኾነልና ጸሎትና እዩ።

ብርግጽ፣ ተግባራት ቢንያም ነቲ ግዳይን ስድራቤቱን ጠንቂ ምርባሽ ናይ ውሻጣዊ ሰላሞሞ ኮይኑ እዩ። ይኹን ደኣ እምበር፣ ዝኾነ ወገን ኣካላዊ ሞጉዳእቲ ወሪድዎ ዝሳቐ ሰብ ዘይምእህላው፣ ንዅላህና ትንፋስ እፎይታ ከነተንፍስ ገይርና እዩ። ምናልባት ኣብ ሓደ ሰብ ኣካላዊ ሞቕሰልቲ ወሪዱ ነይሩ እንተ ኸውን ነይሩ፣ እዚ ሕጂ ዝሕለፍ ዘለፍ ዘሎ ናይ ህይወት ሓጎጽጎጽ ኣዝዩ ዝበኣሰ ምኾነ ነይሩ። ብሓቒ ኵላህና ዕድለኛታት ኢና!

ሽሕ እኳ ናይ ቢንያም ሕሉፍ ተግባራት፣ ብዝኾነ መልክዕን ኣበሃህላን ዕሽስ ኢልና ዘይንሓልፎ እንተኾንና፣ እንተ ደኣ ኣዕሚቕና ሓሲብና፣ ነዞም ዝስዕቡ ክትነጽጎም ዘይክኣል ነጥብታት ኣብ ግምት የእቲና፣ ተግባራት ፍትሒ ብቕንዕና ተፈጻሚ ክኸውን ልዑል እምነት ኣለና። ኵሉ ተራ ሰብ ክርድኦ ዝኽእል ሓደ ፍሉጥ ሓቂ ኣሎ። ኣብ መንጎ ሕቡሳትን ናጻ ሰባትን ኣነጻጺርና ክንዛረብ እንተኾይንና፣ ካብ ዘፈላልዮም ዘመሳስሎም ከም ዝበዝሕ እዩ። ኵሉ ፍጡር ወዲ ኣዳም፣ ብዝተፈላለየ ዓይነትን መጠንን ይሓጥእን ፍትሒ ይግህስን እዩ። ኣብቲ እንነብረሉ ከባቢ፣ እንተ ደኣ ዝተጋገዩን ወይ ገበን ዝፈጸሙ ሰባት ምስ እንዕዘብ፣ ከም ነፍሰ-ገዳያት ጥራይ ካባና ብፍጽም እተፈለዩ ፍጥረታት ገይርና ክንቆጽሮም ኣይግባእን። በንጻሩ ነቲ ኣጋጣሚ ከም ዓቢ ዕድል ገይርና ወሲድና፣ እቶም ሰባት  ዝበለጹ ዜጋታት  ኮይም ናብ ሕብረተሰቦም ተጸንቢሮም ብንጥፈት እወታዊ ኣበርክቶ  ክህልውም ክንምዕዶምን ከነተባብዖምን ይግባእ። ሓላፍነት ናይ ለውጢ፣ ንቢንያም ጥራይ ዝምልከት ከም ዘይኮነ ተገንዚብናዮ ኣለና፣ ንሕና ከም ሓደ ኮሚኒቲ’ውን፣ ኣብ ጉዕዞ ህይወቱ እወታዊ ለውጢ ከምጽእ ተራና ክንጻወት ከም ዝግበኣና እምነትና እዩ። ቢንያም፣ ኣብ  ኣብ ትሕቲ ቀይዲ ኣብ ቤት-ማእሰርቲ ክፍለ-ግዝኣት ዶሊ ንብሕቱ ኮይኑ ዘካይዶ ዘሎ ናይ ለውጢ ቃልሲ፣ ብወገንኩም’ውን ባይታ ኣብ ምጥጣሕ እንተ ደኣ ታራኻም ተጻዊትኩም፣ ነቲ ናይ ለውጢ መስርሕ ኣበርቲዑ ክዓየሉን ክደፋፋእን እዩ እሞ ተራኹም ክዓዝዝ ጸሎትና እዩ። ኣብ መላእ ዓለም ዝርከብ ወድ-ሰብ፣ በቲ ብእግዚኣብሄር ዝወሃብ ናይ ምሕረት ጸጋ እዩ ዝነብር ዘሎ። ወድ-ሰብ ኣብ መዓልታዊ ተግባሩ ሓያለ ተግባር ኣበሳ ካብ ምፍጻም ኣቋርጹ ከም ዘይፈልጥ፣ ስነ-መጎታዊን ብቑዕ መስረታዊ ርትዒን እዩ። እንተኾነ፣ ኵሎም ፈጸምቲ ገበን ርዝነት ተግባሮም ኣብ ሚዛን ተመዚኑ፣ ናይ ሕነ ምፍዳይ ብይን ዘይኮነስ፣ “ካልኣይ ዕድል ናይ ንሰሓ” ተዋሂብዎም፣ ምሕረት ይግበረሎም እዩ። እዚ ናይ ፈጣሪ ተግባር ኣብዞም ፈጸምቲ ኣበሳ ናይ ባህሪ መአርምታ ክገብሩ ይገብሮም እዩ።

ነዚ ኣቐዲምና ዘርዚርናዮ ዘሎና ሓሳባት ናይ ሓቂ ርትዕና ምዃኑ እናገልጽና፣ ቢንያም ንኣርባዕተ ዓመታት ዝኣክል ተኣሲሩ ከም ዘሎ፣ ንዅሉ ሰብ ከነፍልጥ ንደሊ። ብመሰረት ሕጊ ክፍለ-ግዝኣት ጆርጅያ፣ ቢንያም ኣብ መፈለምታ ናይ 2016 ዓ/ም/ፈ ናይ ኣመክሮ ውሳኔ ክወሃቦ ሕጋዊ መሰል ኣለዎ። ንሕና እዞም ብትሕትና ልመናና ነቕርብ ዘለና ዜጋታትን ተቐመጥቲ እዚ ክፍለ-ግዝኣትን ዝኾንና፣ ቢንያም ናይ ኣመክሮ ዕድል ተዋሂብዎ ምሕረት ንኽግበረሉ ሕጋውነት ብቕዓት ክርክብ ምእንቲ፣ ኣብዚ ንጽሕፎ ዘልና  ናይ ኣቤቱታ ፌርማኹም ክትህቡና ንምሕጸነኩም።

ብኽብረትኩም ኣብዚ ሊንክ’ዚ፣ (www.ipetitions.com/petition/ben) ኣቤቱታኹም ኣቕርቡ። ቢንያም ምስ ስድራ-ቤቱ ተጽንቢሩ ክነብር እቲ እዋን ሕጂ እዩ!

ስለዚ እትገብርሉና ሓገዝ ኣቐዲምና ልባዊ ምስጋናና ክንገልጸልኩም ንፈቱ!

ምስ ብዙሕ ምስጋና

ስድራ-ቤት ቢንያምን የዕርኽቱን