Hello,
My name is Chava Peretz. Six months ago, we were a happy family of 3. Then, a disaster shattered our lives into a million pieces.
In December of last year, my husband Natan was in Europe to pray at the kivrei tzaddikim. There, he met an old acquaintance, who offered to help him to make more parnassah. Natan is always working to support our family, and took him up on the offer. The acquaintance gave him an easy job: Transport a bag of dog food from Amsterdam to Moldova, for $500. Easy money.
When he got to customs in Moldova, Natan’s bag was being held by security. When they asked him what was in the bag he told them, honestly, “dog food.” But what was in the bag was illegal substances. He was shocked and confused when police grabbed him and took him to prison. He didn’t even get to call and tell us goodbye. He was held for 30 days without a trial.
We thought it would be simple: He would show he was innocent and be released. But the Moldovan justice system has not been simple. For five months, the trial proceedings have dragged on and on, and been pushed off.
Natan has endured 5 excruciating months in Moldovan prison. He lives off of the small amount of kosher food that Jewish volunteers from the community bring him. He is wasting away, suffering from malnutrition. He is surrounded by violent criminals, who hate him for being Jewish.
We have now reached a deal with the courts: For a fee of $120,000, Natan can come home. At this point, we can’t even afford to continue paying Natan’s lawyer. $120,000 is more than we could ever dream of having. If we don’t raise this money, he could rot away in prison for the rest of his life.
I can’t sleep at night, thinking of Natan starving and being beaten by fellow prisoners. Our three-year-old daughter cries every day and asks me “Where is daddy?” How did we go from a normal Jewish family, to this?
Please, I am begging, help us to pay the fee so that we can bring Natan home. This is a true case of pidyon shvuyim. His life is in your hands.
Chava Peretz
