by
Portia
In a shocking exclusive interview for the DailyMail.com, Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, Zahara Jolie Pitt’s birth mother, revealed that she’s desperately been trying to contact her daughter and wants to have some kind of relationship with her. However, Mentewab hasn’t been successful with getting in contact with Zahara’s superstar adoptive parents, actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
Zahara, who was initially named Yemasrech, which means ‘good news’, was conceived under the most horrific circumstances – a brutal rape. Mentewab was living with her grandmother in Shone, Ethiopia when a man broke into the home and attacked her. Fearful, Mentewab never told a soul. Instead, she hid the fact that she was raped and hid her growing belly until it was impossible to hide.
After initially being disowned by her family, Mentewab went to a nearby town, Hosanna, to give birth in January 2005. Unfortunately, Mentewab was not financially able to care for Zahara. She lived in a poverty stricken town and had little to no education. She quickly became overwhelmed with the pressure of never earning enough to care for her daughter. As a result, Zahara became severely malnourished and sick, as did Mentewab. Things became stressful that Mentewab ran away.
It was Mentewab’s mother, Almaz Elfneh, who cared for infant Zahara after Mentewab left. But even Almaz had a difficult time caring for her and soon went to the local council to ask for help.
“I went to the Kebele (local council) and said to them, ‘Please take the baby before she dies’, said Elfneh.
The article goes on to say that a “fixer” took Zahara to The Wide Horizons for Children agency in Addis Ababa, an adoption agency. Mentewab was told that it was best for Zahara to be put up for adoption. A weak and frail Mentewab agreed, but later regretted the decision.
She was told that she would be kept updated and be able to keep in touch with Zahara, but no such thing happened. Mentewab has not physically seen or had contact with Zahara since she was adopted in 2005? In fact, Angelina Jolie was told that Zahara’ s birth mother died from AIDS – an ugly untruth. Jolie had no idea about Zahara’s history.
Mentewab is not married and has no other children, but she’s always aware of what’s going with her daughter. Her brother, who lives in the United States, keeps her informed and she gleans what little information she can find on the internet.
Although Zahara lives a life of opulence, Mentewab earns a humble living by renting out two rooms from a home that her father built for just $20 a month. However, Mentewab insists that even though she hasn’t received financial support from Jolie, she doesn’t want it anyway. Her only concern is Zahara and getting in contact with her as soon as possible.
It seemed like there was some light at the end of the tunnel when, two years after Zahara’s adoption, representatives of Jolie came to visit her to discuss contact.
“I told them all I wanted was to be allowed to speak with my daughter, but when this message was given to Angelina, they said I wanted her back and if she came for a visit, I would never let her go back to America. That is not true, but that is what they told her,” Mentewab told the Daily Mail.
Metewab knows her daughter’s birthday and keeps newspaper clippings and photos of Zahara in a small folder. She stated that she wishes not to have any more children because she cannot bear the thought of giving another child away.
“I want to have the means to support my own child. If I was faced with giving away another child, I would do everything in my power to stop that. I would beg every day and go door to door asking for help before I gave away another child.”
Although Metewab believes that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been great parents to Zahara, she would still like Zahara to know who she is and that she has a family in Ethiopia. She can’t help but gush about her daughter when speaking about her.
“I am so proud when I see her face. She is growing into a beautiful young woman and that makes me so happy.”
