Jolies adoption is legal and irrevocable

Friday, November 16, 2007

London Nov 16 (ANI): The Ethiopian adoption agency which conducted Angelina Jolie"s adoption of her eldest daughter Zahara in 2006, has come out in support of the actress over the claims that the little girl"s family wants her back. Relatives of the two-year old, including a woman who claims to be her birth mother, are demanding that Zahara be returned to them.

However, Tsegaye Berhe, the head of Wide Horizons for Children, which conducted the adoption, insists that it was "legal and irrevocable", reports the Daily Mail. The row started after Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, who the woman claiming to be Zahara's biological mother, told America's In Touch magazine earlier this week she wanted her daughter to 'come home to regain her identity".

"I want my daughter to come home to see where she is from. Her grandmother and I both tried very hard to raise her, and I want her to come home to regain her identity," she said at the time. Ms Lebiso also revealed that Zahara had been conceived when she was raped by a stranger who broke into her home. After she gave birth, she was so overwhelmed that she ran away, leaving the baby behind. Her mother then allegedly signed the baby over for adoption.

However, the family now insists that they were misled over the adoption, and that the official who had taken Zahara away had assured them that they would see her again and maintain contact with her. But that has not happened. "My mother was very sad. At one point she was even thinking of trying to find a way to bring her grandchild back. But she has no money, so she can't," Mentewab said.