Tamuna Museridze, a journalist in Georgia, embarked on a personal journey to uncover her own origins after suspecting she might have been adopted. Her search began in 2016 when she discovered a birth certificate with an incorrect birth date while clearing out her deceased adoptive mother’s house.
She created a Facebook group called Vedzeb (I’m Searching) to help find her birth parents, simultaneously uncovering a widespread baby trafficking scandal in Georgia where thousands of infants were sold after parents were falsely told their babies had died.
A breakthrough came when someone from rural Georgia contacted her with information about a woman who had concealed a pregnancy around Tamuna’s birth time in September 1984. After posting on Facebook and connecting with a potential relative, Tamuna arranged a DNA test that confirmed a familial connection.
Initially, when Tamuna called her biological mother, she was met with a hostile response. The woman denied giving birth and refused to engage. However, with DNA evidence, Tamuna eventually convinced her mother to reveal her father’s name: Gurgen Khorava.
Surprisingly, Gurgen had been in Tamuna’s Facebook friend list for years without realizing their connection. When they met, the 72-year-old former ballet dancer immediately recognized Tamuna as his daughter. He welcomed her into his family, introducing her to siblings, cousins, and other relatives.
In October, during the filming of a documentary, Tamuna finally learned the full story of her birth. Her parents had a brief encounter and were not in a relationship. Overwhelmed by shame, her mother had traveled to Tbilisi, telling people she was having surgery, and instead gave birth and arranged for Tamuna’s adoption.
Tamuna discovered she was not a stolen child like many others in Georgia, but had been deliberately given up for adoption. Her mother spent 10 days with her before the adoption and had kept the secret for 40 years.
When her mother asked Tamuna to claim she was stolen, Tamuna refused, believing it would undermine the experiences of genuine victims of baby trafficking. This led to her mother asking her to leave, and they have not spoken since.
Despite the emotional complexity, Tamuna remains positive about her journey. “Would I do it all again?” she reflects. “Of course I would, I found out so much about my new family.”
Her story is part of a larger narrative about Georgia’s stolen children, highlighting the widespread practice of infant trafficking and the ongoing efforts to reunite families. The documentary “Georgia’s Stolen Children” further explores this issue, revealing how thousands of babies were separated from their parents through a systematic and heartbreaking process.
