Tamuna Museridze's search for her birth parents spanned eight long years. It all began with a phone call she had hesitantly dreamt about—a call to the woman she believed to be her biological mother. To her shock, the response was a heated denial. "She started screaming, saying she hadn’t given birth to a child. I was ready for anything, but her reaction was just beyond my imagination," Tamuna recalls, feeling more astonished than hurt. However, she was resolute in her quest to uncover the circumstances surrounding her adoption and learn her father's identity.
Tamuna's journey began in 2016 after the death of the woman who raised her. While sorting through her belongings, she stumbled across a birth certificate with incorrect details, igniting her suspicion of being adopted. Determined, she launched a Facebook group titled Vedzeb, or I’m Searching, seeking clues about her origins. This inquiry unraveled a shocking baby trafficking scandal in Georgia, revealing that thousands of parents were misled into believing their newborns had died, only to be sold illegally.
As a journalist, Tamuna had previously succeeded in reuniting numerous families but found her own case to be personal and complex. “It was a personal mission as well,” she explains. In a breakthrough moment, she received a message from someone who knew of a woman who had given birth in Tbilisi around her birth date. This individual provided a name, prompting Tamuna to intensify her search.
Posting an appeal on Facebook, Tamuna struck a nerve; a woman identified the birth mother as her aunt. A DNA test confirmed they were cousins. With this information, Tamuna persuaded her mother to reveal the name of her father, a revelation that led her to Gurgen Khorava.
Surprisingly, Gurgen was already among Tamuna’s Facebook friends for three years—unaware that their lives were intertwined. After a joyful reunion in Zugdidi, Georgia, father and daughter shared a warm embrace, realizing they had more in common than expected, including a love for dancing.
Gurgen invited Tamuna into his family fold, introducing her to numerous relatives who discussed their striking resemblance. Yet the lingering question of her being a "stolen child" remained. Meeting her birth mother was a necessary step; a documentation team arranged this delicate encounter.
In a bittersweet revelation, Tamuna learned that rather than being stolen, she had been surrendered by her mother, who had kept the pregnancy secret due to societal shame. This painful history unveiled a deeply emotional ten days that Tamuna spent with her mother before her adoption. Her mother feared the stigma of truth, pressuring Tamuna into silence about her story.
While the reunion brought joy and connection, it severed the bond with her mother since they haven't communicated since that encounter. Yet, Tamuna firmly affirms the significance of her journey. “I learned so much about my new family and wouldn’t trade this experience for anything,” she reflects, cherishing the newly discovered relationships, including with her second cousin, Nia.
In the backdrop of Georgia's baby trafficking scandal, Tamuna's story is a powerful narrative of identity, belonging, and resilience, ultimately revealing the pain and joy of reconnecting with one's roots.
