The birth mother of Angelina Jolie’s adopted daughter Zahara has pleaded to be allowed to see her child, according to reports.
Ethiopian woman Mentewab Dawit Lebiso told the Daily Mail about her desperation to meet the 12-year-old, who Jolie adopted as an infant in 2005 believing her mother had died from AIDS.
“I just want her to know that I am alive and here and long to be able to speak with her,” Mentewab told the Daily Mail.
“I do not want my daughter back but just to be in contact with her and be able to call her up and talk with her.”
Mentewab, now 31, was first interviewed in 2007, telling Reuters she ran away from her home because she believed her infant was dying, causing her mother to eventually assume Mentewab had died and put the baby up for adoption.
“My baby was on the verge of death. She became malnourished and was even unable to cry,” she said in 2007.
“I was desperate and decided to run away, rather than see my child dying.”
It is thought that Jolie, and Brad Pitt, who adopted Zahara in 2006, didn’t know their daughter’s mum was alive until that interview.
However, it’s been nine years since then and Mentewab reportedly said she has had no contact with her daughter and has not received any money from the Jolie-Pitts, although she insisted she doesn’t expect any.
Mentewab told the online news outlet that she doesn’t want to disrupt her daughter’s life or take her from Jolie, but just wants to have contact with Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt.
“She has a life that I could never give her, but I would still like to have some contact. I would like to see her face,” she said.
“She has grown into a beautiful woman and I am so proud of her. My heart bursts because I am so proud.”