No memories, no memories, no photographs, just a document of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) is what Maryi Ramírez Rocha has from her biological mother, a Colombian woman whose only name is known and who, after an exhaustive search, is known to have been born in El Castillo (Meta).
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Despite the challenges, Maryi has persevered in her search for years, without losing hope. Now that she is a mother, her longing to find the woman who brought her into the world is stronger than ever. She dreams of the day when her daughter can meet her grandmother, a reunion that would be the greatest gift for her.
At just 2 years and 8 months old, Maryi Ramírez was admitted to the ICBF in Meta. The girl, who was born on March 17, 1988 in Villavicencio, ended up at the Institute for physical dangeraccording to official documents. She stayed there for 8 months until she was adopted by a Danish couple. They raised her under the name Anna Maryi Riisberg Lund.
This is the story of a woman who, despite the passage of time, struggles to unravel the path that will take her back to her origins.
Entered into ICBF: your personal information
On November 20, 1990, Maryi Ramirez was admitted to the ICBF due to physical danger. In official records, her mother is listed as Luz Mary Rochaa 23-year-old girl. The alleged father, José Antonio Ramírez, although identified in the documents, never established any relationship with the girl and did not appear before the court during the adoption process.
Maryi’s fate seemed lonely; no close relatives came to see her. So, from August 1991, she was under the care of Marleny Rua Giraldoa surrogate mother who took her in as her own until she was adopted by a Danish couple, who would take her to a new life far from her homeland.
The social worker’s reports described Maryi as an ordinary child, whose birth had been uneventful. She had no physical or mental illness and her psychomotor development was appropriate for her age. However, she stood out for some unique features: a mole on her neck and another on her arm, small identifying marks, one of which was erased due to health issues.
At three years old, He already showed a curious and lively personalityShe recognized the people around her, knew the names of objects, and her language was clear. She was always attentive to what was happening around her, did not refuse food, and enthusiastically enjoyed walks, games, music, and dancing.
A new beginning for Maryi in a multicultural family
In 1991, Marleny, Maryi’s surrogate mother, could no longer care for her because she was pregnant. By then, a Danish couple had arrived in Colombia with the hope of expanding their family.
Maryi’s adoption was given high priority and was brought forward. Her adoptive parents only received a photo before travelling to Colombia. Maryi says that “at that time, the political situation in the country was very tense due to the wars and shortly before boarding the plane it was not clear whether the girl could travel or if everything would be postponed.”
In October of that same year, The Colombian justice system made the adoption official, granting them custody of the little girl.
Maryi points out that her story is that of many people who during that year were adopted by foreigners, because along the way he has met Colombian adults who are also hoping to find their parents.
Two weeks after she was given up for adoption, she traveled with her adoptive parents to Denmark, where she began a new life. And even though they flew thousands of miles away, her new guardians never denied her its origins and roots.
Some time later, the adoptive parents decided that they wanted to adopt from Colombia again, but changes in the law prevented them from doing so and they adopted a child from South Korea. Therefore, Maryi grew up with her Korean brother, in a multicultural family that surrounded her with love..
Since then, she began a great challenge at only 4 years of age, one that would haunt her for the rest of her life: facing questions about his own life for which he had no answers.
“When I was in kindergarten, children asked me about my origins and asked me why I was so different from my parents,” she says in an interview with EL TIEMPO.
Her school years in Denmark were not easy. She felt distressed when her classmates mentioned phrases like: “I got that habit from my dad or my mom”because she couldn’t share those experiences.
Maryi does not remember the exact moment when she felt the need to look for her biological mother.but admits that it was during his adolescence when that urge became stronger.
“In adolescence, one begins to reason more and the desire to get to know her grows. I was also trying to get to know myself.“, he tells EL TIEMPO.
At the age of 14, she and her family moved to Germany. Despite having a stable life with her adoptive parents, the weight of not knowing her origins affected her emotional and psychological well-being.
You may be surrounded by people and lead a very social life, but suddenly you feel too lonely.
“I have my demons. There are weeks when I am excessively happy, but that can change suddenly, for whatever reason. I live my emotions to the extreme,” says Maryi.
For women, the hardest thing is the feeling of being alone among thousands of people. “It’s a feeling that comes very suddenly and is very common among adopted people. You can be surrounded by people and lead a very social life, but suddenly you feel very alone,” she says.
When she turned 15 she went to live aloneShe was always very independent. Being adopted left a deep mark on her, to the point of living in constant fear of losing the people she loves. “That’s why I prefer to reject people close to me, for fear of losing them.”
Although she lived with that emptiness, she managed to study like a normal girl, she graduated from high school and, later, from university, overcoming difficulties with tenacity.
With all her demons, as she calls them, He has taken advantage of the opportunities that life offered him and became a resilient person.Before giving birth to her daughter on March 9, 2024, she worked at a major company that manages investments and savings funds for businesses and private individuals.
Looking for a mom, a love letter to someone she never met
At the end of 2018, Maryi’s need turned into action: the search for his mother began.
Determined to discover her roots, she began her search. That same year, she registered with the MyHeritage database, and in 2023 she did the same with Ancestry. Also in 2018, together with her friend Robin Heirich, She sent her story to a German television program specializing in reuniting lost families, but got no responses, even though she contacted them again..
A year later she traveled to Colombia with a friend who has family in Cali to connect with her homeland. When she arrived in the country she said that He had an indescribable feeling, as if he had arrived home and as if he could not access a memory that he had present.
The way people were so open, so warm and so cheerful reflected her very essence. She has always loved dancing. Since she grew up in Europe, she didn’t learn the typical Latin American dances. She started with standard dances, gave classes to children and recently began to learn salsa dancing until shortly before giving birth.
Back in Germany, he intensified his search, this time with greater resources and the unconditional support of his friends. Robin Heirich and Alejandra Gnecco They shared their story on platforms like Facebook and X, seeking to connect with people in Colombia who might have some information.
Heirich was in charge of the necessary translations to facilitate communications with the entities, while Gnecco, a journalist by profession, used the social networks hoping that Maryi’s search would echo, until reaching her mother who has not yet given any clues.
Lawyer José Gnecco, Alejandra’s father, also committed himself to the search. He carried out the relevant investigations to find the key clue that would lead to the conclusion that Maryi’s mother could be a resident of El Castillo, Meta, the place where she was born, according to the civil registry provided by the lawyer to the investigation.
“Several people have been on the lookout and have tried to help via Facebook. They have sent documents and names, but we have not achieved anything through this channel,” added Robin Heirich in an interview with EL TIEMPO.
They have been in contact with several registry offices in Villavicencio and with that they came to the information that in a town called El Castillo, in Meta, supposedly, there is the mother and relatives of Maryi.
After five years of searching, Maryi keeps in her heart the hope of finding the woman who gave her life, her daily struggle, along with her thoughts, the most sincere love letter for the woman he hopes to find.
You are always in my thoughts and in my heart, and I pray that you are well.
“Dear Mom, I am so grateful for the good life I have received and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it. You are always in my thoughts and in my heart, and I pray that you are well. My greatest wish is for you, to meet you and show you your granddaughter. Please contact me. Your daughter who loves you,” Maryi writes in the letter.
Contact:
If anyone has information about Maryi’s mother or is the person she has been looking for for years, two channels have been set aside for communication: 6012439237 and [email protected].
GERALDINE BAJONERO VASQUEZ
Journalist Latest News from EL TIEMPO
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