Letter to the Editor: The (very long) tale of a letter

May 11, 2020

Re: The ‘Thank You’ Letter which will have Traveled 14,580 miles from Paul Whelan in Moscow, Russia to Sandy in Manchester, Michigan, USA

We are hoping to find the kind lady, named Sandy from Manchester who, last June 2019, sent a July 4th card to our son Paul Whelan in Lefortovo Prison, Moscow, Russia.

Last Spring, several diners and helpers at Senior Lunch, held in Emanuel Fellowship Hall, asked for Paul’s address to send him a card or note, as he had been detained since December 28, 2018, on espionage charges. His Trial has just started - May 2020. Sandy kindly sent a card which arrived at the prison in late June, taken there by the US Embassy in Moscow, as our mail has to go via DC to Moscow. The prison authorities did not give the mail to Paul until August, just one of the many privations against him.

Paul loves to receive mail and he also likes writing letters, so has tried to thank the senders if they had put their return address.

On August 24, 2019, Paul wrote a ‘thank you’ letter to Sandy (surname unknown) at Emanuel United Church of Christ, Attn: Sandy, 324 West Main Street, Manchester, MI 48158. We think she must have written this address as we were there for Senior Lunch. (Paul is not allowed to have an address book, iPad or iPhone) The letter flew 4860 miles from Moscow to Manchester.

At the Manchester Post Office (arrival date unknown but it looks like ‘2212/12/19’), it acquired a yellow label stating, “Return to Sender, No Mail Receptacle, Unable to forward”.

Now we understand Rules, but we find it hard to believe that Emanuel the Church on Main Street, with the tall spire, a hop, skip and a jump from the Post Office, does not receive any mail at all. Perhaps a quick phone call could have been made to them, or a note put in our mail box as we receive mail daily.

However, despite the “Unable to Forward,” back the ‘thank you’ letter went, 4,860 miles from Manchester to Paul in his cell at Lefortovo Prison, Moscow, Russia.

We can only picture Paul’s face when it was given to him! So on February 8, 2020 he sent the envelope and letter back to us, arriving on May 6, 2020, another 4,860 miles from Moscow to Manchester, with a note exhorting us to please find Sandy and deliver her letter if we are able.

As of today, Paul has now been detained for 500 days at Lefortovo Prison, with his Trial in Secret Court just starting, and we would love to accomplish this task of returning the letter to Sandy for him, after its 14,580-mile journey.

We would like Sandy to know the history of her July 4, 2019, card to Paul!!

Thank you,
Ed and Rosemary Whelan
Manchester

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.