A Tigrayan Adoptee: Wanting To Find Family And Wanting To Be Found

In the absence of reliable sources of information and adoptee-approved search organizations, I am posting this information with permission from Mulu, an adoptee from Tigray, who is wanting to find her family. Please read carefully.

Name: Mulu Ejigu Abara (Abera?)

Sex/Gender: Female (She/her)

Approximate age at the time of adoption: Between 4-8 years old (age was changed to be adopted) 

Year of adoption: 1999 (Gregorian year)

Where she was placed for adoption: Alamata Orphanage first then transferred to an orphanage in Addis Ababa

Hometown: Tigray (exact location unknown )

What she remembers about the town/city in Tigray:

-Landscape/Environment: There was a red canon on display in the city centre. Mulu remembers living near a flour factory and a modern-bridge where many cars and trucks passed by. There was also a homeless woman who often ran around naked (she had mental health issues). The town/region was very mountainous and green.

-Church/Religious Festivities: During Christian orthodox holidays, priests would stop in the town/city and stay all night. She believes it was a pilgrimage site. There was a large church surrounded by trees with a cemetery nearby. Mulu also remembers watching different religious/spiritual rituals performed in specific locations in and around the town.

-Main family members she remembers:

-Deleva, Deliva, Daliva* (aunt)

-Belaynesh (her mother or her grandmother)

-Haftu, Aftu* (cousin)

*Unsure of the spelling and/or pronunciation

Background: Mulu lived between her mother/grandmother’s house and her aunt’s house. Her mother/grandmother was very ill (she remembers helping to care of her). When she passed away, she went to live with her aunt full-time. Her aunt’s husband participated in the Ethiopia-Eritrean war (she doesn’t think he was in the military, though).

Note: She does not remember if Belyanesh was her mother or her grandmother. She vaguely remembers her father - her parents did not live together.

Other information:

Mulu has very vivid memories of her family and where she is from. She would be able to identify her family members because she has very clear memories of specific events and experiences with them. Several years ago, she returned to Alamata Orphanage, but was not able to uncover any information. She is not from Alamata; she remembers traveling there from her hometown (it took at least one night of driving). During her time in Alamata, she met many prospective “family members”, but none of their stories matched.

Adoption context

Adoptions from Ethiopia have been systematically fraudulent, corrupt, or unethical. We know this because time and time again, adoptees have found their families alive and perfectly intact. Our stories are all similar: parents or family members were not explained the full meaning of Western adoption, which is the severing of family ties. Adoption agencies and orphanage owners told parents and family members they would receive updates about their children (and that their children would return to visit), but this rarely ever happens.

In some cases, parents never consented to their children being adopted; it was (and perhaps still is) commonplace for orphanages to be temporary homes for children during emergency situations (needing to leave to find work, illness, death in the family, war etc.). Parents would entrust orphanages to care for their children while they stabilized their situation. Orphanages would use this as an “adoption opportunity”, meaning that parents or family members would return to find their child gone, adopted out to the US, Canada, France or wherever else with falsified documents.

Individuals and adoption professionals involved in illicit adoptions (human trafficking) have faced very little consequences, especially those involved in adoptions to France.

Mulu’s adoption is a variation of this story, however, we will not know the truth until we find her family. Like all of us, her paperwork does not provide any helpful details, which is why we are turning to social media and the power and connectedness of the diaspora for help.

Please share widely and spread the word with the elders who are not on social media! We never know what detail(s) could be a clue. Please do not hesitate to ask questions below or tag me on Twitter so that everyone can see it.

Thank you!

Kassaye (with Mulu’s permission)