Zahara's Birth Mother Raped

HerBadMother — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 12:32:00 GMT

The good news coming out of the Angelina's-Adoption-Gone-Bad story this week: Zahara's birth mother does not want to remove Zahara from her adoptive family. Also good: Zahara's birth mother does not have AIDS. The not-so-good? Zahara was, apparently, conceived in rape.

Mentwabe Dawit, Zahara's birth mother, told Reuters that she was attacked one evening in 2004 after a day's work at a construction site in the southern Ethiopian town of Awasa.

As she walked home in the darkness, a man approached. "He pulled a dagger, put one hand on my mouth, so that I could not scream. He then raped me and disappeared." The 24-year-old decided to keep the assault a secret. "I feared the consequences of being raped in a community where rape is considered a taboo, even if what happened happened forcibly," she said.

Now, the fact that Zahara was conceived in rape does not in way bear upon her lovability and adorability and the extent to which she will be cherished throughout her life. Not one little bit. It's just a really, really sad detail, is all - one that underscores just how tremendously wonderful it is that such a child was given a chance at a happy life in a happy family, loved by happy parents. (If, that is, we believe that Angie and Brad are happy. Whatever the case, I think that they're both beyond happy to be Zahara's parents, and that's what matters.)

(Could the week in gossip get more depressing? Between rumored deaths and stories about suicide and depression, it's hardly shaping up to be a cheery Thanksgiving. Could someone maybe show their boobs or something? You know, make everyone feel better?)

Source: Perez; The Age

Will Angie And Brad Lose Zahara? Birth Family Wants Her Back

HerBadMother — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:49:00 GMT

Uh-oh. This could be seriously bad news for the Jolie-Pitt family: InTouch Weekly is set to report that Zahara Jolie-Pitt's birth family wants her back.

According to the InTouch story, first reported by Perez Hilton, little Zahara is not the AIDS orphan that she was reported to be. Apparently, her birth mother is alive and well and AIDS-free, and she has an extended family who desperately wants to see her. The family says that they were promised regular visits and contact with Zahara, but that they haven't seen her since her adoption and now want to fight for what's right - a relationship with their little girl.

A source close to Angelina says that she's heard about the family's concerns, but that she 'feels on a deeper level that Zahara is part of her family. “She believes that Zahara is an orphan and the woman who claims to be her mom is mistaken,” says a friend. Government papers said Zahara was an AIDS orphan, says the pal, and “Angie had no reason to believe otherwise. Zahara was days away from death and Angelina saved that child. As far as she is concerned, that bonded her to that little girl forever."'

Experts say that, regarding the issue of the birth family's right to visits with Zahara, 'Angelina has no obligation to keep in touch with Zahara’s blood family. “It’s up to the adoptive parents,” he says. “We cannot force them.”'

But could Zahara's birth mother sue for custody? Theoretically, yes.

According to the InTouch story, Zahara's birth mother 'never signed the papers giving up her daughter, which could give her a case for getting Zahara back — if she had the money to pursue it. “If some family member comes in and leaves the child at an orphanage and signs her over, and then the mother wants her back, you can make the argument that the person didn’t truly understand that their child is gone forever,” says adoption specialist Jerri Jenista.'

Obviously, Zahara's family doesn't have the money to pursue it, but even just speaking out yields some potentially bad press for Angelina and Brad. Not to mention, I imagine, a great deal of fear and anxiety.

Fingers crossed that this gets sorted out. For Zahara's sake.

(Source: PerezHilton, InTouch; Photo: PerezHilton)

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Zahara's Birth Mother Raped

Will Angie And Brad Lose Zahara? Birth Family Wants Her Back