The prison doesn't want Paul to report on the Wagner recruitment. When there is silence, we think of the worst that can happen.
The silence is the worst. When my twin brother, Paul Whelan, doesn't call us from the Russian labor colony where he is held hostage, we worry. Well, we worry all the time. But particularly when he's silent.
Paul's calls to our parents are such a lifeline. I have not spoken to Paul since October 2018 when we were at our parents' house in Michigan. He was saying he'd be away to help a fellow Marine having a wedding in Moscow over Christmas. I was to keep an eye on our parents. We never imagined that he was the one who'd need an eye kept on him.Courtesy of the Whelan family
When there is silence, we think of the worst that can happen. We also wonder if the best might be happening. You can't know. If he isn't calling, does that mean he's being released? We haven't experienced that yet. When Brittney Griner came home, Paul's calls to our parents continued without interruption.
Just as quickly as the news broke, we went back to work. Each member of our family lives a parallel life. There is the person who goes to work each morning, has coffee with the neighbors, tends the garden, or walks the dog. Then there is the other person. Our parents wait by a phone every day at 1 p.m., hoping for a call. They hear about Paul's needs and prison life. They share a rosy picture of local events in their village in Michigan and Flora the dog's latest antics.
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