Edita Bizama, 64, reunited with her daughter, Adamary Garcia, 41, after over 40 years apart due to forced adoptions during Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile. Adamary was taken shortly after birth and adopted abroad, one of an estimated 20,000 children taken from their parents. A DNA test and the NGO Connecting Roots helped trace their connection. Their emotional reunion, facilitated by the organization, involved a tearful airport meeting after months of virtual conversations. Garcia, who grew up in Florida, is connecting with her Chilean heritage and establishing relationships with her biological family, seeking closure on their past.
San Antonio, Chile:
“I always knew she would find me,” Edita Bizama, 64, shared from her residence in the Chilean port city of San Antonio after finally reuniting with the daughter who was taken from her more than 40 years ago during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.
Adamary Garcia was separated from her mother just days after birth and sent overseas for adoption, part of a heartbreaking estimate of up to 20,000 children who were forcibly removed from their parents by a military regime that viewed international adoptions as a means to alleviate child poverty.
“There was a very persistent social worker,” Bizama recalled. In 1984, Bizama, already a mother of two, had shown interest in adoption during her pregnancy but later hesitated.
The social worker pressed, saying, “How can you raise three children? You lack a job, a home, and stability.”
Bizama recounted spending five precious days with her daughter, where she held and fed her, before being taken to an office several hours away, where she was forced to hand over her baby and sent back home on a bus.
This secret remained buried within Bizama’s family for decades—she had no name or means to search for her daughter.
Meanwhile, Adamary Garcia, who was raised in Florida and now resides in Puerto Rico, was aware of her adoption but had no knowledge of the surrounding circumstances.
A turning point came when a friend shared a story about Tyler Graf, a Texas firefighter who discovered that he had been taken as an infant during the dictatorship, leading him to establish Connecting Roots, an NGO dedicated to reuniting adoptees with their biological families in Chile.
Using her sister’s birth certificate for tracing and DNA testing for confirmation, Connecting Roots identified Bizama as Garcia’s birth mother.
Now 41, Garcia resembles her mother and two sisters. Like her older sister, she shares a passion for dogs, and together they have rescued and fostered many of them.
However, she speaks differently, with her Puerto Rican Spanish—infused with Miami expressions—contrasting with her biological family’s distinct Chilean accent.
“We were all just looking at each other, not saying much,” Garcia recalled of their initial Zoom meeting. “I looked into my mother’s eyes and thought, ‘This is the person who gave me life, and wow, I look so much like her’.”
Then last week, they shared a heartfelt reunion at the airport.
Garcia was among five adoptees that Connecting Roots brought to Chile this year, marking the NGO’s fourth reunion trip.
Graf mentioned that the government supports the NGO’s mission, but the focus is more practical than political, aiming to reunite as many families as possible before it’s too late.
“These mothers are aging, and some have passed away,” Graf explained. “We’re racing against time.”
Typically, adoptive parents were unaware of the circumstances surrounding the removal of their children, Graf noted. Garcia mentioned her adoptive parents were very encouraging of her journey.
Now, she’s immersing herself in Chilean slang, cuisine, music, and culture, planning a trip through Patagonia with her sisters and looking to incorporate Chile more into her life.
“It’s been a whirlwind of laughter and tears,” Garcia expressed. “I believe this moment helps everyone find closure on events that transpired 40 years ago, while also beginning to form relationships that will last a lifetime.”
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