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Paul Whelan (File photo)
Paul Whelan of Michigan who was held for five years and seven months in a Russian prison on false espionage charges before being released last August, talks about the difficulty of resuming a normal life back home.
"The longer you’re gone, the harder it is to get back to normal," Whelan, 55, told Trib Live of Pennsylvania last month. "So it’s a constant reminder of what happened to you and that you were gone."
“It’s a surreal experience.”
The last report was that he was living with his parents in Washtenaw County.
He was interviewed to get perspective on the recent release of Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania native who was held in a Russian prison for 3 1/2 years for bringing medical marijuana into that countrry where he was teaching history.
While imprisoned he lost his job as director of global security for an auto parts supplier and his health insurance. He said he had traveled to Moscow in December 2018 for a friend’s wedding.
To help him out, a GoFundMe page titled "HELP PAUL WHELAN INTEGRATE INTO A NEW LIFE," has been created, and as of Sunday morning, it had raised $71,564.
The GoFundMe page says:
Paul is a resilient person, but he has an obvious challenge ahead. He lost his job, his home, his car, his personal property as well as any semblance of normality. He turned 54 years old in Russia and lost more than five years of opportunity to earn and generate resources during a critical time in his professional career. He's doing as well as he can, but being held hostage did have a tremendous impact on his life.
All donations will be used to off-set the costs to rebuild and restart his life. Paul has immediate needs and we are looking for support to help him until he can get to a place where he is, once again, entirely self-sufficient. He needs help to cover expenses for housing, a car, medical, dental, and optical care. To seek employment, he needs a phone, computer, wardrobe and a host of other persons.
