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The rumors have been running wild across the Internet, and for good reason because several sources have cited that Angelina Jolie’s adoption of Zahara Jolie-Pitt was not entirely legal and that Zahara‘s birth mother was still alive and wanted her back.
I am so disgusted by these so called sources. Today an article came out via Reuters, explaining that this is not true.
Angelina Jolie‘s adoption of an Ethiopian baby was legal, the agency involved said on Thursday, rejecting reports that the child’s relatives want her back.
Newspapers have reported this week that relatives of two-year-old Zahara, including a woman who says she is her birth mother, want the child returned to Ethiopia. Jolie adopted Zahara in July, 2005.
“The court in Addis Ababa approved the adoption after studying the document her grandmother wrote … saying her daughter, the mother of Zahara, had died and she was too poor to bring her up,” Tsegaye Berhe, the head of Wide Horizons for Children, which conducted the adoption, told Reuters.
“The grandmother brought three witnesses to court who testified that Zahara‘s mother had died and that her father was unknown … The court also investigated the social status of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt before approving the adoption.”
Tsegaye said the adoption was “legal and irrevocable”, and he blamed reporters who he said had paid the relatives to raise the dispute.
“The controversy is media hype by unethical journalists exploiting the poverty of the grandmother,” he said.
In essence, what that means is that these papers and tabloids are so desperate to dig up dirt on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie that they PAID people in Ethiopia to lie in order to create a story. I can’t blame the people over there who went along with it because if I was that poor I’d probably do it too for some money to keep living. But there is no excuse for the trash on this side of the world that would pay people to make up such damaging lies. I guess constantly saying “they’re splitting up/no they’re getting married/they’re expecting quintuplets/they’re adopting fifteen kids at once!” is getting old so now they’ve sunk even lower than ever before.
I admire Brad and Angelina very much for their ability to ignore most of what the tabloids “report” and I guess that’s the only way to survive it, but this sort of story could have been very harmful had it not been cleared up, and in this case I’d love to see them sue and then turn around and give whatever money they win to the Addis Ababa orphanage.
(Article source from Reuters/Africa via Soulie Jolie. Photo via Google.)
Technorati Tags: angelina jolie, angelina jolie adoption, brad pitt, brad pitt adoption, angelina jolie and brad pitt adoption, zahara, zahara jolie-pitt, adoption of zahara jolie-pitt, addis ababa, wide horizons for children
From what I read Ethiopia has over 5 million orphans. Children who have their lost their parents to AIDS etc. Yet the adoption agency somehow chose a child for Angelina who actually has a parent who’s alive? This is the first thing makes it suspicious.
I highly doubt the woman who claim to be Zahara’s birth mother is being truthful. On another message board someone read the UK tab article that first dug up the so called birth mother 2 years ago.
Apparently, she was 18. Now it’s 2 years later and she’s supposed 24 in the In Touch article. She doesn’t know her own age.
Not only that, she can’t even remember which name she gave her child. In the UK tab she called her child Setota and in the In Touch article it was Yemasrech.
I despise the tabs and their lies.
Thanks Min.
Here’s the newest article from the BBC regarding this:
Mother ‘backs’ Jolie’s adoption
Angelina Jolie (right) adopted a child from Vietnam earlier this year
The mother of an Ethiopian baby adopted by Angelina Jolie has said she was happy her daughter had found a new home with the actress.
Mentawbe Dawit denied media reports that she wanted two-year-old Zahara returned to Ethiopia.
“I have never disputed the adoption,” she told the Reuters news agency. “It was something I never said.”
Ms Dawit said her words had been twisted by “so-called journalists” who had told her they worked for Ms Jolie.
The agency which approved the adoption in 2005 has insisted it was “legal and irrevocable”.
It said that at the time of the adoption, Zahara’s grandmother sent a letter to the court which said the child’s mother was dead.
‘No ill feelings’
Ms Dawit, who lives in the southern city of Awasa, told Reuters she ran away from her home five months after giving birth because she had no food for her baby.
“I decided to flee rather than watch her die,” she said.
Ms Dawit’s mother searched for her, but concluded that she must have died and put Zahara up for adoption.
Reuters said that Ms Dawit kissed a photograph of the actress during its interview with her at her home.
“This is to show I have no ill feelings towards her,” she said.
“I think my daughter is a very fortunate human being to be adopted by a world-famous lady. I wish them all the success they both deserve.”
In 2002, Jolie, who also works as a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, adopted her first child, Maddox, from Cambodia.
Three years later Zahara was introduced to the family. Her partner Brad Pitt later applied to become their adoptive father.
Last year the couple celebrated the birth of their first biological daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, in Namibia.
In March, the actress adopted a three-year-old boy from Vietnam, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt.
The tabloids are out of control, making up lies to sell. Sometimes you have the feeling that they just want to destroy the JP. But in general it is all the stars, they are hating on.
Min – U Are Awesome!!!! I Am Also Looking 2 Adopt Children In The Future ( Not Sure If I Want Biological Children But I Know I Want 2 Adopt) What U Are Doing Is Really Beautiful And Courageous And I Hope 2 Follow In U And Angie’s Footsteps
Read this Reuters story with lots of detail about how Zahara’s mother happy for Angie’s adoption of Z. No problem. She was tricked by “so-called journalists.” Read it. There’s lots of new info.
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL17277819.html
Min, what a wonderful thing you are doing for these children. First time Mom, that is great. Good luck to you and let us know how it all goes.
Dragging up old news :(
They will never get any piece. If it’s not them its their children. I hope they don’t become another Ben and J-Lo, a relationship abandoned because of other’s hatred.
Sophia~ No worries, I don’t think you are prying. Many people are very curious about adoption. Initially I was “approved” by my agencies social worker to adopt 2 children. I really wanted siblings because I felt that the “gift” of having a biological sibling is huge in terms of adjusting later in life. I knew that I would adopt at least 2 children from Ethiopia and felt that in the short-term it would be a harder adjustment for me (single mom), BUT, in both the short and long term it would be a better choice for the children. The children are 4 months and twins that are 3 years old. The ages are approximate since birthdates are rarely recorded and the pediatrician in Addis Ababa is giving an estimate based on development. These will be my first children and I chose adoption as my first choice.
P.S. Thanks Andrea…but really I am really the lucky one!
Oh, and Min, you rock just like BP and AJ do!
Wasn’t this trash brought up and dismissed once already back when Zahara was first brought home? It seems just ridiculous to me–not only has it got to be stressful and hurtful for Brad and Ang, as I’m sure many stories about them are, but it blows my mind to think that the tabs would dredge up this story when it so obviously could cause poor sweet Z such pain and conflict if she reads about it when she gets older. No matter how wonderful a pair of adoptive parents are (and I have every faith in Brad and Angie), an adopted child will always experience a curiosity about and a longing to feel connected to her birth family at some point in her life. It’s sad enough that Zahara never knew/will never know her birth mother–to stir up a controversy over whether she COULD have if things had been done differently could cause her so much pain. It’s the slimiest thing I can imagine those hacks doing. Thank goodness Mom and Dad went through all the proper channels and did everything possible to make sure Zahara was truly, legally theirs to adopt. That will make it easier for her.
Totally aside from that, HOW unbelievably disrespectful of Zahara’s late birth mother is this? I hope so much for her that there is some misunderstanding and the people in Ethiopia who were paid to raise these allegations are not actually members of Z’s birth family. If it’s true, that could eventually be very difficult to deal with for her as well.
And yet, this sad situation reminds me what a beautiful and admirable thing it is when this family or any other adopts a child without a home–they knew these issues could come up eventually, but yet they say “bring it on!” and dive in–they want that badly to give their love to a child who needs it. I love this family so much!
Min, this is fascinating! Are you adopting three children at once so as not to tear them apart? I find this incredibly courageous of you. It will be wonderful, but definitely not easy, which makes me admire you all the more. Will these be your first children? How old are they? Sorry for being so nosy, but as I said before, I´m fascinated.
And I agree with you saying that the best scenario is to stay connected to your children´s birth families. That way the whole adoption process will hopefully be a lot less traumatic for the children, inasmuch as they often feel a bit rootless, or so I heard. However, I know far too little about adoptions to voice too much of an opinion. But I am interested and would have been open to adoption myself, had I not have been able to have children biologically – however, my husband would have been totally against it. (not because he couldn´t love adopted children, but because of the many issues that go with it).
Anyway, I would love to hear more, if you don´t feel I´m prying!
Sophia, no problem. I have a vested interest in the subject as I am currently in the process of a adopting a sibling group of three children from Ethiopia. The subject matter of adoption is near and dear to my heart. I can’t imagine being in AJ’s shoes…as a mother you “know” it is the best scenerio to stay connected to your children’s birth families. Yet in her case it is so complicated by the media. I don’t envy her one bit.
Min, thank you for your words. It is so easy to get “bashed” over here. So I´m grateful if someone actually understands what I´m trying to say, and not immediately suspects an “unacceptable” AJ/BP criticism!!
Thanks also for enlightening me on the subject matter! You are totally right; it could easily be interpreted as “buying” a child, if you give money. I didn´t think of that. It makes sense!
Sophia you made some great points and it seems that you are attempting to look at this issue from all sides.
Unfortunately, it is illegal to give money to the families involved in international adoption. The reason is that it is such a fine line (and sometimes a blurry one at that) that can easily be crossed into baby trafficking. Most AP (adoptive parents) strive for a legal adoption and most agencies carryout lengthy investigations to determine if the baby/child is able to be adopted. Ethiopia has just recently (within the last month) changed their policy and now the birth mother or closest relative must be in court before the child is relinquished for adoption.
Ligaya, I didn´t say that. All I said was that quite obviously the adoption agency would say that everything was legal. What else would they say?
I think a lot of these foreign adoptions are a bit dubious, because there is never enough proof on whether a child is really an orphan or whether the parents are just too poor to raise the child. Plus, there are plenty of desperate parents who urgently want to adopt a child. So some things might be a bit rushed. That would NOT mean that AJ or BP did anything wrong, mark my words, that´s not what I´m saying. All I´m saying is that it´s common knowledge that not all is always legal in foreign adoptions. Why do you think so many people turn to foreign adoptions? It´s a whole lot easier to adopt a child from a poor country than a European or American child.
So, to summarize, all I said was that adoptions are not ALWAYS carried out in a completely “clean” way, which not necessarily means that the customers i.e. the prospective parents are aware of that. But a lot also don´t care, they´re just glad to finally have gotten a child, also understandable in a way from their point of view.
In Zahara´s case, if her family is so poor that they had to accept money for false information, then I guess it is definitely best that she was adopted. In fact, she probably had not lived had she not been adopted by AJ. Still, I wish AJ had given her family some money, too.
Sophia, I normally wouldn’t answer your post but it’s worth commenting on. According your philosophy, we shouldn’t believe and place any credence on anybody/anything official/unofficial that supports the truth about the JPs – e.g. the adoption agency. But we should believe anything anti-JP that the tabs say. Does that policy apply to X? Believe nothing positive about her, just the negative stuff?
HI!
THey´re tabloid papers what else so you expect? honestly.
Chances are big Brangelina didn´t even hear or care about them.they know that their adoption was legal. THey saved Zaharas life and they love her. Btw grogeous picture of Angelina huging Zahara. so sweet….
THey are celebreties, they have to live with such stories and they know it. it´s sad bt thats holywood. i think pitying them like some of you do is not necessary.
ITAWU Maria. I don’t see anything wrong with the photos, just tired faces and a red nose! And the next day at the set, she’s beaming as usual. Not to forget the date night before the premiere.
Thanks for posting your information. Frankly, I begin to wonder if ANYTHING about ANYBODY is true. It appears to me than you are “fair game” if you are a ‘public ” person. I think this all started decades ago with Elizabeth Taylor &* Richard Burton…. and then it was “katy bar the door” Ask Jackie, Diana, Madonna, Prince Charles, Prince William, the list goes on & on % on & on….. to infinity!!!!
But folks buy this ,thus ,misinformation is very proffitable, no matter who suffers.