Headline Of The Week Weak
Filed under: Baby Blabber > Headline of the Week > Angelina Jolie
"Will Angie Lose Zahara?
The birth family of Angelina Jolie’s daughter wants her to bring Zahara home to Ethiopia"
There's always dramz! CLICK HERE to read the article accompanying this headline!
Will Angie Lose Zahara?
The birth family of Angelina Jolie’s daughter wants her to bring Zahara home to Ethiopia
Angelina Jolie shares a special bond with her daughter Zahara, whom she adopted more than two years ago from Ethiopia. Malnourished and suffering from rickets, Zahara was days away from death when Angelina found her, bonded with her and nursed her back to health. Today, she cherishes time alone with her happy toddler, 2, and “chooses special stories” to read to her when they’re together, a pal says. But now a dark cloud of unhappiness hangs over their relationship. And Angelina’s worst nightmare may come true.
On June 20, 2006, Angelina proudly told CNN’s Anderson Cooper about the daughter she named Zahara. “She’s from Ethiopia. She’s an AIDS orphan,” Angelina said. But Zahara’s adoption papers, which an In Touch representative was shown on November 12, clearly states that Zahara has a grandmother and extended family alive in Africa— and the grandmother introduced In Touch to her daughter, who claims to be Zahara’s mother.
In 2005, the U.K.’s Sun also talked to the woman, who claimed to be Zahara’s birth mother. In the town of Awassa, 140 miles south of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, In Touch spoke with that woman again. She’s very much alive, she doesn’t have AIDS — and she’d love to be with the child who was taken away. “I want my daughter to come home to see where she is from,” the woman who says she’s Zahara’s mother, Mentewab Dawit Lebiso, 24, tells In Touch. “Her grandmother and I both tried very hard to raise her, and I want her to come home to regain her identity.”
Was Angelina lied to?
While her birth family may not be able to afford to challenge Zahara’s adoption, they do claim they were misled. They say a local official, who took Zahara to the adoption agency, told the family they would get to see the baby again and maintain contact with her. Most people hoping to adopt who are working with the U.S.- based agency Wide Horizons for Children (which Angelina used to adopt Zahara) visit the child’s village and surviving family members. But Angelina, 32, could not do so when she adopted Zahara more than two years ago. “There were a lot of journalists following her,” the agency’s Ethiopian head, Dr. Tsegaye Berhe, tells In Touch. “She was not able to travel as much as she would have liked or as we would have liked her to do.”
Still, after speaking to the agency, family members hoped Angelina and her partner, Brad Pitt, 43, would bring Zahara back for a visit. But that has not happened. “After they took the baby, they didn’t keep in contact. They didn’t tell us anything about her,” Zahara’s aunt, Zinash Haile Yenero, 20, tells In Touch. “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.”
Angelina, an insider says, has heard the published tales of Zahara’s African family, but 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.”
Because of her own stormy relationship with her father, Jon Voight, Angelina has strong feelings about parenthood. “She feels that while a person may have a biological parent who is still alive, that parent has to earn the right to be with their child,” the pal explains.
Zahara’s real story
Dr. Tsegaye says that 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 Zahara’s grandmother, Almaz Elfneh, 45, insists that the circumstances behind their decision to put the baby in an orphanage must be told to Zahara and to her adoptive parents. “I miss my grandchild a lot,” she adds. According to Mentewab, Zahara was conceived when she was raped by a stranger who broke into her home. After the baby — whom she named Yemasrech, which means Good News — was born on January 7, 2005, she moved in with her mother and got a job as a laborer. But Mentewab became overwhelmed. “I thought the baby was going to die because there was no food, so I ran away,” she confesses.
Unable to care for her alone, Almaz says she brought the child to a local authority, explaining that her daughter had run away. Another man, who worked on behalf of WHFC, but was not an official employee, took the baby away and told the agency that her mother had died. “What he has done is equal to murder,” charges Mentewab. “He took my daughter away and he just disappeared with her. He said I was dead, but I heard from my mother that she never said that.” But Dr. Tsegaye disputes this account.
Despite their sad story, Angelina feels that she must put Zahara’s needs first, says an insider. “She believes that you protect your child and put them first,” says the pal. Another friend says that Angie thinks contact with Zahara’s birth family at such a young age would be too confusing. Others disagree. Adoption specialist Jerri Jenista says, “Most parents want their children to have some contact with where they came from.”
The choice, however, remains Angie’s until Zahara has grown and can choose for herself. Much as they’d love to see her, Mentewab and her family know they cannot force Angelina to bring Zahara home. They realize they could never give the child the happy, privileged life she shares with her new parents. Maybe one day, Zahara will enjoy the best of both worlds.
Angelina thought she had no mother
Angelina, who proudly introduced Zahara to her co-stars on the set of The Good Shepherd in August 2005, believes Zahara’s mother died.
They will adopt again
Despite the heartache involved with international adoptions, Angelina and Brad plan to have more children together, say friends, with at least one through adoption.
Could her birth mother get Zahara back?
Mentewab 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.
Mentewab struggled to feed her family. “Sometimes all I had was a piece of bread all day,” she tells In Touch.
Zahara’s mother Mentewab sells onions at the market. Her grandmother Almaz says they couldn’t afford to keep Zahara
“I would tell other families not to give up their children,” says Zahara’s aunt Frehiwot, 18, with another aunt, Zinash Haile Yenero. “I would tell them what happened to us.”
Two neighbors, including Asegadech Asefaw, concurred that Mentewab had run away — not died.
Another neighbor, Bekelech Haile, accompanied Almaz to the government offices.
But the agency says Angelina adopted legally
Wide Horizons for Children claims it told Angelina that Zahara’s mother was dead because the documents that her real grandmother, Almaz Elfneh, and three witnesses signed said so. “We have to trust the documents we received from the local government,” says Dr. Tsegaye Berhe, who tells In Touch that Almaz is indeed the baby’s grandmother. “She’s signed a document saying, ‘My daughter had died and she left the child behind.’”
Madonna’s son also isn’t an orphan
Madonna has had trouble with a foreign adoption, too. Yohane Banda (right), the father of her son David, protested that he didn’t know he was giving up his son forever. Angelina also appeared critical of Madonna for taking a child from Malawi. “It’s a country where there is no real legal framework for adoption,” she told a French magazine. “Personally, I prefer to stay on the right side of the law.” But later, Angelina insisted she favored Madonna’s adoption. “I said many positive things that were omitted,” she said. “I encourage everyone to be supportive so that every child can adjust nicely to their new home.”
Should celebrities help children stay with their families?
The plight of Africans affected by AIDS and living in poverty has led other stars to lend financial support to communities without removing children from their homes and villages. For instance, in 2005, the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project was created by the Oscar-winning actress to fund mobile health clinics to serve the poorest and most rural areas of South Africa. Save the Children’s Tonya Nyagiro tells In Touch, “It’s more acceptable for most of these kids to remain in their villages among family and friends who do their best to care for and support them.”
first… kid stealers
Well too bad you can't have her back
Well too bad you can't have her!
first
first
I'm an ugly n1gga so whut?!
I believe family takes precedent over fame.
She should keep the little brown baby so it can grow up rich.
Watch out,
here comes all the Angelina bashers who have nothing better to do.
The bigger headline should be whether Vanessa will pose for Playboy…..and the subtitle should be whether she'll shave that big ole bush…..
The mother looks identical to Zahara! She must be her daughter.
That's ridiculous! No way it's going to happen, but honestly if you give your child up and don't want them anymore, you have no right to come back and take them from a loving good home after a few years!
First?
Zahara is so cute!
Give her back, Ange. She's black. They loose their cuteness in the first few years of life. Then they just get angry and fat and live in the big cities collecting hard earned American dollars. Return her back to the adoption store. -W-
Ethiopia…thats sucks for her.
Firrrst
That's horrible. Hopefully Angelina will be able to keep Zahara.
1000th
i do not feel pity for her.
so sad
That is horrible, hopefully Zahara will be able to stay with Angelina
zahara looks just like the two african ladies claiming to be her family.
OH WELL, GIVE HER BACK THEN.
The parents just want M O N E Y!!!!!
so sad
dude
Angelina is the one who has raised the child and saved her from death!
She should be the one who gets to keep Zahara.
If this article is NOT true that would be fucked up to just get any random African lady and say it's her mom. I don't think it's true to be honest.
2 many NEGROZ in this country
Z. and Captain Crunch, you are both assholes.
Angelina was told that it was an Aids orphan with no mother. She adopted Zahara legally and fairly, and it's not her fault for the families bad decisions. Zahara is her baby now, and she should keep her; end of story!
How much did In-Touch pay them for their story?
She can have the kid back when having a black trophy baby is no longer in vogue in Hollywood.
I'm not sad about this at all. She can find another baby anywhere
Re: PLEEEEEEEEASE VANESSA –
Yeah, they should picture her shaving it
as an adopted kid myself…. i STORNGLY suggest NOT to even CONSIDER taking Zee back. I was forced to see my bio-family and wished i never had. It confused the fuck outta me when i was little and gave me teh sense that i had no real family at all… neither my bio-fuckers or my adopted family. You give your kid up.. that's it.. you give them up for good. Deal with your decisions.
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
BILL GATES WAS AT KELLY CLARKSON CONCERT LAST NIGHT IN SEATTLE!!!
For those who havent read the entire story….The parents arent asking for Zahara back because they cant afford to raise her….The parents just want to see Zahara and let Zahara know her Ethopian identity.
However, the parents dont have to worry because the Jolie-Pitts are going to make sure all their children have a connection to where they're from….They already bought Maddox a home in his country.
bitch just wants money!
Fuck that! These peeps wanna sell their babies, then ask for them back later? What a load of shit.
After seeing recent picture of Angelina i think its funny that they say she nourished this little girl when she can barely keep her self nourished…. Not saying take the kid away but maybe trying to raise an entire soccer team is takin it outta her….let the kid go back when she is old enough to make the decision on her own.
Re: Willie D. – you have issues.
This report is so stupid!! Once an Ethiopian adoption has gone thru their court systems there is NO turning back. The child is legally (in the US and Ethiopia) yours….
What irresponsible reporting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SHE'LL PROBABLY LET ZAHARA VISIT BUT IS AFRAID OF THE MEDIA FRENZY. POOR ANGIE AND BRAD!!
i do see a striking resemblence between Zahara and the woman who is claiming to be the mother… but that is not proof that she is the mother. I think Angelina deserves Zahara and it should be Zaharas choice when she is older to get in contact with her real family members if she had any.
If this is true it is very sad. Yo can tell Fierce baby Z has bonded with Brad and Angelina. unlike in madonna's case The adoption agency LIED to B&A so they thought Z was really an Orphan. This is so wrong and painful for both family but The truth is if they wouldn't have adopted Z she would be dead right now.
DAmn , Angelina never catches a break. someone especially the tabloids are always out to get her. how did In touch find these people? I think brad is bad luck and she should dump him. LoL
First thing, paternity test. But, no matter what, Angie keeps baby. Mom lost her rights. Zahara can decide what she wants later IF paternity proves the woman is her mom. If proves she isn't, 20 lashes for being a big fat money grubbing liar.
EVEN IN AFRICA YOU CANT TRUST A NIGGA
Of course she won't lose her child. She and Brad have infinite money, and they can pursue it legally… also how could you make a case to send a child back to blood relatives who don't have the means to care for her…. a slice of bread a day for food… I don't think anyone would support sending her back there when she is living a good life here, and though I can see them wanting contact, most people who love their children want what is best for them.
OMG. Nightmare, indeed.
Mothers love their children soooooo much; it's that instinctual that a person could almost see this coming. If I ever adopted an orphan, I would want to be certain they had no parents to avoid future heartbreak.
that little girl is now part of their family, it would shatter that little girl to take her out of the homw she now knows.
Ugh. Why the eff would they want the kid back if they know they can't give her anything? Why can't they just be happy for her?
I hope Vanessa trims the Hoo-Ha a little before she poses for Playboy.
This is racism. If Angelina Jolie was black her real mom would be happy to let her continue living in America.
That's the risk you take when you try to adopt children like stray cats.
this sounds like the agency's problem. both sides were misled… sucky situation.
BABY STEALERS!! Oh, imagine the outrage if all these families of African children want their babies back. Then Madonna and Angelina can adopt Britney's children… but wait, they're not black so they aren't trendy. NEVER MIND!
if zahara goes back, she'll probably end up dying! team angelina!!
i sympathize with these relatives, but they ran away from her. they were leaving her to die.. angelina gave her a home. so shut it.
Stupid Africans. Just pop out another kid so you can neglect it and watch it die of some stupid disease.
First! First! I’m First! Also, I had Ménage à trois with Barbara Bush and Nancy Regan. When they were young and hot! We read the bible, discussed our contempt for the poor, and then we snorted up a bunch of really good Columbian. I then boned the future first ladies till they begged me to stop. It is entirely possible now that you mention it, that I may be GW’s real father. It’s hard to say; since Barbara had a lot of lovers back then. It was after all the mid 1940’s. Times were wild then. Man those bitches could suck a golf ball thru a straw. Ahhhhhh yeah. Oh also….First! First bitches!! First!!!
I dont like angelina like alot of people cause i like jenifer aniston haha.
But i know she is a good person and always tried to help, which makes me feel bad for not liking her lol.
And i think that Zaharas 'mum' is blates only doing this because its angelina jolie.
If the kid was adopted by someone that wasnt famous, she would just get on with her life.
Think of how good this kids lifes gonna be so long as she stays in the US.
somebody's told these people that they can make a lot of money so they're coming out of the woodwork. whether or not it's her child, she gave her up because she couldn't care for her. what about the situation has changed? that she's discovered that she can make money off angelina? who cares that david banda and zahara have live family members. MOST adoptions are that way. it's because there aren't the financial resources to care for the child, not because every single family member is dead.
LONDON (AFP) — Prosecuting the perpetrators of genocide and other crimes against humanity is the best way to prevent further atrocities, actress Angelina Jolie said, urging tougher action in 2008.
"Accountability is perhaps the only force powerful enough to break the cycle of violence and retribution that marks so many conflicts," the Hollywood star wrote in The Economist magazine's "The World in 2008", out on Wednesday.
The actress, who is a goodwill ambassador to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said she hoped the coming year will see the international community seek "true accountability" for victims, particularly in Darfur.
"Through accountability we can begin the process of righting past wrongs, and even change the behaviour of some of the world's worst criminals," she said.
In the full-page article seen by AFP on Tuesday, she said international tribunals like those set up after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda or following conflict in the Balkans have the power to change behaviour.
Jolie — one of a number of high-profile world figures to contribute to the publication — said she had met a teenage boy from Darfur on a recent UNHCR mission to a refugee camp in neighbouring Chad who said he wanted those responsible to be put on trial.
THE DEFINITION OF TABLOIDS IS LIES.
that habesha woman needs to get a life,WHY COME AFTER 2 YEARS??
they are tryin to get attention and hopeully start a ”FOND” for Zahara and then they will take the money and move to the land of their dreams AMERICA.its juts a plan ppl,they stand no chance to Angelina.
if she really had a bond with Zahara she would tried earlier even though it was a money issue, its not like she's a millionare now either wtf?!
she just wants to leave the poor Ethiopia thats all,she's poor she has no life there.
ps.that granny looks scary.cold.plain scary.
She almost died the first time they had her, do they want another shot at killing her?
Re: Ally – I think the ability to feed your child should be more important.
ok so let me get this these parents are so selfish that they would rather their child have died (like it was sure to do) and be with them then to have it adopted by someone who could provide for all of its wants and needs and are complaining about it? Saying 'I didn't know I wasn't going to see her ever again' but at least its a chance, rather than the child dying in their care. That woman could easily be a sister posing as the mother and while this is a pitiful story these people probably want to be paid off to not try and fight for custody or they just want to whore their story to a magazine to make money - either way this makes me sick - what kind of mother would run away because the baby might die and then try and claim she loves the child - bull shit
Not to sound crass… but Zahara's from Africa and a lot of people look alike from there. Do a DNA test!
Oh wait, don't worry about it at all, it is sad, but the women is saying "I only had a piece of bread to eat a day"… COME ONE! SERIOUSLY?? Does anyone REALLY think it's in the best interest of that child (or any child) to yank her out of a family who she's bonded with and has formed relationships over the past two years and that CAN AFFORD to give her more than a piece of bread to eat a day, to a poverty-stricken young woman in Africa? I'm sorry, I think it's really sad, but if this woman really cared about her [alleged] daughter, she'd say you know what… you're doing the right thing with her: you're giving her love and FOOD and you can take care of her in ways I can only dream of.
DONE DEAL
Fake story
They wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't Angelina Jolie.
.
Shame on everyone trying to make news at the expense of the little girl.
Re: Willie D. – What's your email?
How terribly sad. But, the truth of the matter is that the birth mother abandoned her child by running away. The only real parents Zahara has ever known are the parents that choose her, Angelina and Brad. And, if the adoption is legal, they should be able to keep her and raise her however they see fit. Any child should be so lucky as to have two parents as loving and caring as they are.
well any black lady could step forward and say she is zahara's mom since they all look alike anyway.
wait!!!!! let's stick with the important stuff. was Bill Gates really at a Kelly Clarkson concert last night?????
Fuck, them dude. They have NO right to start bitching now about the child being taken away. She was adopted. She has a family. She has NO recollection of anything that happened before being adopted. Sounds like the kind of scammer parent who wanted Madonna's baby David back once he knew Madonna was famous. That baby is 100% Angelina's and Brad's!
The stupid f@##%$ should have taken better care of her when they had her…Tough crap especially since the little girl was near death…They just want to be paid off…Nothing but a damn money scam…No way in hell would I give her back…She would be pimped out probably or sold if they sent her back…
hey perez…you know that pic on the right hand side of this site's header where it's just your face — kind of a side view? i think you should change that as you look about 40 pounds heavier in real life.
BLACK GIRLS NEED A BLACK WOMEN IN THEIR LIVES. BLACK WOMEN NEED TO BE REAFFIRMED BY OTHER BLACK WOMEN AS SOCIETY TELLS US WE'RE UGLY. IT'S OK IF WHITE WOMEN LIKE ANGELINA WANTS TO ADOPT A BLACK BOY BUT NOT A GIRL.
Re: Derek –
Can this please be deleted? Psycho alert!
oh shit!
dude.
theres so manyy rasicist peOplee here.
god man
white, black,latino,asian
who gives a fuck!
were all equal peOples
i'm white n i'm nOt rasist, man its sad 2 see so many mean cOmments
btw i lOve angelina and i think she wOuld bee heart brOken if she lOst z
xoxO
Re: Willie D. – U're obvious intention is to provoke racial hate comments. Minorities are smarter than U and have better things to do, in their wonderful lives, than respond to gutter trash like U'rself.
boycott taboids
boycott tabloids
boycott tabloids
boycott tabloids
SHAME ON THEM
Oh, and by the way, my ass is lily white.Re: Willie D. –
She is her mum though, look at the eyes.
But not so sure but the grandma being her mum haha.
They look completely different.
Someone check that out!
This is a bullshit fabricated completely tabloid story. Those people in the photo have clearly been paid a paltry sum to stand and look sad outside a hut. Actually they look quite good for people whose entire society has been ravaged by poverty and aids. Most people in north america who would read the tabloid shit have never seen HOW BAD IT REALLY IS in Africa first hand. We're talking entire villages of kids because ALL the adults have died of aids. Even if those people are genetically related to Zahara Jolie-Pitt, she's been adopted out of her biological family, she belongs to Angelina now and 1) they won't see her again and 2) they should be happy their child of all the millions without parents has parents who can afford to take care of her and educate her.