The documentary about Georgia named „Stolen Children” is just being released worldwide on HBO MAX. So, in today’s episode of the Caucasus podcast, we’ll be discussing this film directed by Martyna Wojciechowska and Jowita Baraniecka, the initial reactions to its cinema premiere, and briefly discussing the topic itself.
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Let’s start with what the documentary „Stolen Children” is about.
The directors of Stolen Children tell the story of renowned Georgian journalist Tamuna Museridze, who, after the death of her parents, finds out she was adopted and wants to learn anything about her origins. During this research, she discovers that adoption outside the state system has existed in Georgia for decades, and that many newborns placed for adoption were actually stolen from their mothers after birth. Young mothers were told their children had died. If this piece of information leaves you with more questions than answers, I assure you that the documentary „Stolen Children” will help you answer them or at least learn more about the context of Georgian reality.
In the documentary „Stolen Children,” we also meet Amy and Ano. Two girls who didn’t know each other, found each other through social media and discovered that they were not only adopted, but also they’re sisters, twins, separated in the hospital, stolen from their mother. Their biological mother was convinced her children had died shortly after birth. She, too, was in a coma due to postpartum complications.
We also learn in Stolen Children that their cases are not isolated. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Georgian families are in a similar situation.
I remember reading about this story for the first time in the Georgian media a few years ago, and then a BBC program was aired about the activities of Tamuna Museridze and her foundation, Vedzeb (formerly a television program of the same name). Each time, the story evokes shock, sadness, compassion, and many other emotions, encouraging more and more Georgians to break taboos and search for their biological parents or demand answers about whether their children truly died as they were told dozens or even decades ago.
The documentary „Stolen Children” itself isn’t a summary of stories from other programs. What I really appreciate about this film is the added Georgian context of the Soviet era and the period after its collapse. I don’t mean to excuse or whitewash the people involved in these practices.
I feel that the added context in Stolen Children helps us see the realities of Georgian life at that time, to learn a little about the mentality, taboo subjects, and unwritten social rules.
Perhaps you’ll find answers to some of the questions that arise when you hear about this story, such as why no one told the children they were adopted? Why didn’t the authorities react? And others like these, which I heard from people learning about the stolen children for the first time, or whispering to each other during the film’s premiere at the WatchDocs Festival in Warsaw. I don’t know if these answers will satisfy you. But I think they help you better understand the realities of life in Georgia.
The documentary Stolen Children also includes, among other things, the continuation of the story of Tamuna Museridze, who found both her biological parents and learned what happened to lead her to illegal adoption. This is not for the gossip and tabloid purposes interesting – the reason she decides to tell her full story is to show the mechanisms of the illegal adoptions in Georgia. Similarly, we learn more about the stories of Amy and Ano, and their biological and adoptive parents.
We also learn about organizations in other countries that collaborate with the Vedzeb Foundation, as Georgian children were also trafficked outside of Georgia.The documentary also includes, among other things, the continuation of the story of Tamuna Museridze, who found both her biological parents and learned what happened to lead her to illegal adoption. This is not for the gossip and tabloid purposes interesting – the reason she decides to tell her full story in the Stolen Children is to show the mechanisms of the illegal adoptions in Georgia.
Similarly, we learn more about the stories of Amy and Ano, and their biological and adoptive parents. We also learn about organizations in other countries that collaborate with the Vedzeb Foundation, as Georgian children were also trafficked outside of Georgia.
Everyone knew about this adoption, but no one told anything
This phrase is made in the film Stolen Children by Tamuna Museridze’s cousin (the adoptive parents side). „No one told her,” she recalls, „because it’s a taboo subject. Children are simply not told about it.” This line from the documentary really struck me as a totally true one.
Looking at Georgia from the perspective of someone of non-Georgian descent, I see many topics that Georgians say are simply not talked about. Or that they simply aren’t done, and that’s it. We can judge it from the perspective of other, „our” cultures of origin, if we need to. I try very hard not to. It’s simply part of the way of thinking and behavior in many families, in many communities in Georgia.
The reasons why it happens and what are the potential root causes of it is the story for a separate episode – let us know if you’re interested so we’ – best to say based on facts and research results not assumptions.
It’s a fact that Georgia has been slowly changing socially over the past decades. Gradually, there are fewer taboo topics, or those taboos are slowly being discussed, sometimes quietly, sometimes more widely. The very fact that such a topic is now being discussed to some extent in public already indicates a change.
Similarly, the adoptive mother of one of the twins recalls receiving information from a friend working at the hospital that there was a child.
The newborn was placed up for adoption – she got some pieces of information, so she didn’t ask for additional details. In Georgia, we can still observe the importance of unspoken social relationships and connections – the feeling that these people are ours, that we know them, or that someone we know vouches for them. And we trust them because they are, let’s call it, „in our circle – social group.”
From the stories of other families, we learn that even when they wanted to inquire, back then – decades ago – they didn’t receive full information and, for various reasons, decided not to ask any more questions. I encourage you to watch the film to learn the details and perhaps form your own opinion and identify the emotions these stories evoke. I know one thing – I would very much hate to ever be in the shoes of those affected by illegal adoptions.
Was it only in Georgia that children were sold for adoption?
I heard this question expressed with empathy and concern at the Warsaw premiere on WatchDocs Film Festival. I also saw it, though often more sarcastically, in comments on social media. „But this happened in other countries too,” „But Georgia isn’t unique in this regard” – I saw such comments right after the Polish premiere (the international premiere is still happening as I’m recording this episode, so we’ll see what social media in other languages brings us).
In the film itself, as well as in other materials, both the directors and the characters themselves – Tamuna, Ano and Amy – emphasize the scale of this phenomenon by comparing it with the very small population in Georgia. According to their estimates, as many as one hundred thousand families and children could be affected, and Georgia currently has 3.7 million citizens. Even if we assume the highest population figure – just over 5 million in 1979 – the percentage is still very high.
Last week, I was thinking a lot about these social media comments, and came with one conclusion. Just because in other countries similar things happen, things which according to many social norms and penal codes around the world are illegal and unacceptable, doesn’t mean we should get used to them and stop talking about them. On the contrary, if we hear about the same or partially similar stories from almost every continent, I believe we should talk about it even more. And remember that behind every 100,000-person statistic are 100,000 individual mothers, fathers, children, and families who were affected and whose lives were forever changed.
That’s why I greatly appreciated that the documentary not only provided context, facts, and statistics, but also guided us through the stories of real people. We saw the world through their eyes, learning the perspectives of those around them. Judging by the reactions of those in the cinema who were hearing about this story for the first time, I can say that the filmmakers managed to transform this story form a mass phenomenon — cold statistics — into a more realistic, human dimension of it.
As I mentioned, I won’t tell you the whole story in today’s episode—I invite you to watch the film „Stolen Children” on HBO MAX (I should add that this is not an advertisement, and I’m glad that materials are also being produced about these difficult topics related to Georgia). It is available in many languages, of course including English.
We’ll be watching howthe Stolen Children document, currently available worldwide and in many languages on one of the most popular platforms, influences public debate and Georgians themselves, both in Georgia and abroad. We’re also monitoring other family-related issues, including: Surrogacy and in vitro fertilization (including the export of these services to families outside Georgia), and perhaps we’ll do another such social piece on The Caucasus Podcast someday, if you’d like to hear about it.
Thank you for listening to this episode, which is more socially relevant than the last few. Thank you for sticking around to the end. I invite you to watch the documentary and explore the Caucasus from different perspectives, including the more challenging ones. See you in the next episode of the Caucasus podcast or in our language courses in Jezyki Kaukazu – Languages of the Caucasus. And of course, if you think this episode is valuable and interesting, send it to your friends and click the rating button in your podcast app or like it on YouTube. This way, the algorithms know it’s interesting and there’s a greater chance that others will listen to it too. Thanks, and see you soon!
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