Mentewab Dawit Lebiso was forced to give her daughter up after she was raped
Poverty stricken 31-year-old was attacked then fell sick after her baby was born
Jolie adopted the daughter from Ethiopia believing she was an ‘Aids orphan’
Now Mentewab tells Mail Online she desperately wants to speak to Zahara, 12
Biological mother says she wants Jolie to get custody after love split with Brad
Says she is not asking for her daughter back but wants the chance to talk to her
Mentewab says she has had no letters, photos or money from Jolie since adoption
‘I just want her to know that I am alive and long to be able to speak with her’
The natural mother of Angelina Jolie’s adopted Ethiopian daughter Zahara has made a heartfelt plea to the superstar actress telling her: ‘Please just let me talk to my daughter’.
Poverty stricken Mentewab Dawit Lebiso told Daily Mail Online she is desperate to be part of her 12-year-old daughter’s life – and called for Jolie to get custody of her daughter in the bitter split with Brad Pitt.
She dreams of one day meeting the girl she gave up as a tiny infant – but said she would settle for the chance to simply hear her voice.
‘I just want her to know that I am alive and here and long to be able to speak with her. 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,’ said Mentewab, who ekes out a living in Ethiopia.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4124360/Angelina-Jolie-s-adopted-Ethiopian-daughter-Zahara.html#v-2597170323809942864
Desperate: Mentewab Dawit Lebiso is Zahara Jolie Pitt’s biological mother, having given birth to her in Ethiopia after falling pregnant when she was attacked. Mentewab has never had any other children and now desperately wants some contact with Zahara
Bid for reunion: Mentewab, pictured left above, gave birth to Zahara, pictured above right with Angelina Jolie in 2007, in Ethiopia but the baby was put up for adoption as Mentewab was so sick. She is desperately disappointed she has no contact with Zahara
Poverty: The simple home in central Ethiopia where Mentewab makes a living renting out two rooms, which brings in less than £15 a month
Poverty: The simple home in central Ethiopia where Mentewab makes a living renting out two rooms, which brings in less than £15 a month
Mother’s longing: Mentewab told MailOnline that while she had lost Zahara as a baby, she still felt grief. ‘I miss her all the time. I think about her every day and long to hear her voice or see her face’
Mother’s longing: Mentewab told MailOnline that while she had lost Zahara as a baby, she still felt grief. ‘I miss her all the time. I think about her every day and long to hear her voice or see her face’
New life: The life that Zahara Jolie Pitt would have lived in Ethiopia is far removed from the luxury of Los Angeles and life with Hollywood star and humanitarian campaigner Angelina Jolie. Her biological mother is still living in desperate poverty
New life: The life that Zahara Jolie Pitt would have lived in Ethiopia is far removed from the luxury of Los Angeles and life with Hollywood star and humanitarian campaigner Angelina Jolie. Her biological mother is still living in desperate poverty
Bid for reunion: Mentewab, pictured left above, gave birth to Zahara, pictured above right with Angelina Jolie in 2007, in Ethiopia but the baby was put up for adoption as Mentewab was so sick. She is desperately disappointed she has no contact with Zahara
Poverty: The simple home in central Ethiopia where Mentewab makes a living renting out two rooms, which brings in less than £15 a month
Poverty: The simple home in central Ethiopia where Mentewab makes a living renting out two rooms, which brings in less than £15 a month
Mother’s longing: Mentewab told MailOnline that while she had lost Zahara as a baby, she still felt grief. ‘I miss her all the time. I think about her every day and long to hear her voice or see her face’
Mother’s longing: Mentewab told MailOnline that while she had lost Zahara as a baby, she still felt grief. ‘I miss her all the time. I think about her every day and long to hear her voice or see her face’
New life: The life that Zahara Jolie Pitt would have lived in Ethiopia is far removed from the luxury of Los Angeles and life with Hollywood star and humanitarian campaigner Angelina Jolie. Her biological mother is still living in desperate poverty
New life: The life that Zahara Jolie Pitt would have lived in Ethiopia is far removed from the luxury of Los Angeles and life with Hollywood star and humanitarian campaigner Angelina Jolie. Her biological mother is still living in desperate poverty
‘I long to be able to have regular contact with her.’
Daily Mail Online tracked down Mentewab to a town in central Ethiopia far from the capital Addis Ababa and tourist attractions of the African country.
During an exclusive interview Mentewab looked close to tears as she mentioned her daughter’s name and talks of her hopes of one day being reunited with her.
Even now, 12 years after giving up her only child for adoption the pain as she talks about Zahara is clear in her face.
Lonely birthdays: Mentewab told MailOnline she knows every time Zahara’s birthday passes but cannot mark it because she wants to celebrate with her
Lonely birthdays: Mentewab told MailOnline she knows every time Zahara’s birthday passes but cannot mark it because she wants to celebrate with her
Modest: The tiny home where Mentewab lives and rents out two rooms is her only source of income. The 31-year-old says she has not received any letters, pictures or money from Angelina since the adoption 12 years ago
Modest: The tiny home where Mentewab lives and rents out two rooms is her only source of income. The 31-year-old says she has not received any letters, pictures or money from Angelina since the adoption 12 years ago
Rural: This muddy road where cows graze freely is most likely where Zahara Jolie Pitt would have lived if she had not been adopted by star Angelina. Now it is where her birth mother Mentewab ekes out an existence
Rural: This muddy road where cows graze freely is most likely where Zahara Jolie Pitt would have lived if she had not been adopted by star Angelina. Now it is where her birth mother Mentewab ekes out an existence
Poverty: Mentewab lives off this humble road in Ethiopia. She does not have any photos of her daughter on display as she does not want others in the town to know she gave away her daughter – even if it was to one of Hollywood’s most famous female stars
Poverty: Mentewab lives off this humble road in Ethiopia. She does not have any photos of her daughter on display as she does not want others in the town to know she gave away her daughter – even if it was to one of Hollywood’s most famous female stars
Brutal rape: One night, when her grandmother was away on business, a stranger broke in and subjected her to a vicious attack. When, a few months later, it became impossible to hide the fact that Mentewab was pregnant, her relatives disowned her
Brutal rape: One night, when her grandmother was away on business, a stranger broke in and subjected her to a vicious attack. When, a few months later, it became impossible to hide the fact that Mentewab was pregnant, her relatives disowned her
Poor: Mentewab lives in a poor Ethiopian town but occasionally follows her daughter’s progress online and receives news from her brother in America
Poor: Mentewab lives in a poor Ethiopian town but occasionally follows her daughter’s progress online and receives news from her brother in America
Struggle: Mentewab initially kept her daughter, whom she had named Yemasrech, which means ‘good news’, but struggled to make enough money then ran away, leaving her with her own mother Almaz Elfneh (left)
Struggle: Mentewab initially kept her daughter, whom she had named Yemasrech, which means ‘good news’, but struggled to make enough money then ran away, leaving her with her own mother Almaz Elfneh (left)
No conflict: Mentewab insists she is not asking for her daughter back and praises Angelina Jolie as a good mother. She says simply: ‘I would like Zahara to know she has a mother who loves her as much as Angelina’
No conflict: Mentewab insists she is not asking for her daughter back and praises Angelina Jolie as a good mother. She says simply: ‘I would like Zahara to know she has a mother who loves her as much as Angelina’
She lowers her eyes, and speaking through an interpreter, says softly in her native, Amharic tongue : ‘I would like Zahara to know she has a mother who loves her as much as Angelina.
‘I know her life is with Angelina is in another country and she speaks another language than me. ‘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 has grown into a beautiful woman and I am so proud of her. My heart bursts because I am so proud.
‘We all die sometime and before I die I would like her to know about me and that she has family here in Ethiopia.
‘I would ask Angelina to let me speak with her. I do not think it is too much to ask.’
The 31-year-old has had no contact with Zahara since she was taken to America by Jolie when she was just six months old in 2005.
Mentewab has not received a card or letter from Jolie in past 12 years. Contact with birth mother is rare for adopted children growing up, however, they have a right to try and trace birth parents when they reach 18.
And despite her and Pitt’s combined wealth estimated at over $500m Mentewab has not received any financial help to escape the dire poverty that sees her surviving on less than pds 15 a month and living in a one room home with no running water or toilet.
‘No money has ever been offered and that does not worry or disappoint me,’ said Mentewab.
Megastar Jolie was told that Zahara was orphaned when she adopted her in 2005, and had lost her parents through Aids.
It is thought that she had no idea that Mentewab was alive until 2007, when she gave her first interview.
Maternal: Angelina Jolie was clearly besotted with her newly adopted daughter Zahara as she planted a kiss on her head just after her arrival in the United States in 2005
Maternal: Angelina Jolie was clearly besotted with her newly adopted daughter Zahara as she planted a kiss on her head just after her arrival in the United States in 2005
‘Aids orphan’: Angelina Jolie revealed she had been told Zahara’s mother had died of Aids when she adopted her in 2005, and said she was also suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. In fact her mother was still alive
‘Aids orphan’: Angelina Jolie revealed she had been told Zahara’s mother had died of Aids when she adopted her in 2005, and said she was also suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. In fact her mother was still alive
New family: Angelina Jolie first adopted son Maddox from Cambodia, in 2002, and later daughter Zahara from Ethiopia, in 2005
New family: Angelina Jolie first adopted son Maddox from Cambodia, in 2002, and later daughter Zahara from Ethiopia, in 2005
Life of riches: Zahara, pictured left above with Angelina Jolie and sister Shiloh, right in 2015, was born into grinding poverty in Ethiopia but adopted by Jolie after her mother fell ill after the birth. Zahara’s birth mother, who gets by on less than £15 a week, wants to be able to talk to her
Life of riches: Zahara, pictured left above with Angelina Jolie and sister Shiloh, right in 2015, was born into grinding poverty in Ethiopia but adopted by Jolie after her mother fell ill after the birth. Zahara’s birth mother, who gets by on less than £15 a week, wants to be able to talk to her
Mentewab is adamant she does not want to destabilise her daughter, nor is she after money. She simply wants any form of contact she can, although she acknowledges that there is no obligation for Jolie to get in touch.
Gesturing around the bare concrete walls of her home in a back street of the dusty Ethiopian town where she lives, she says: ‘What would I do with the money. I do not want any money from Angelina. She does not have to send me any money, but all I would like is to talk with Zahara.’
Zahara was the second of three children adopted by Jolie,41, and her superstar husband Brad Pitt.
I do not want any money from Angelina. She does not have to send me any money, but all I would like is to talk with Zahara
Hollywood’s golden couple – until their recent split and acrimonious custody battle – also have three other children of their own.
The six children currently live with Jolie in Malibu, California, after Pitt faced allegations, which were later dropped, of strict treatment of the eldest boy Maddox,15, and unsubstantiated rumours of drug use.
The actress has been granted custody of the children Maddox, Shiloh, 10, Pax, 12, and twins Vivienne and Knox, eight, as well as Zahara while lawyers hammer out a divorce settlement and final custody agreement.
Mentewab said she is aware of the divorce as relatives in America keep her informed of any developments by reading out stories from the media.
She had also learned from the internet about the allegations made against 53-year-old Pitt and firmly comes down on the side of Jolie in the couple’s high profile custody battle.
‘I want my daughter to stay with Angelina. She is a good mother and all children should stay with their mother,’ she said.
‘I am sorry that they are splitting up and I will pray for them, but I do not think it will affect Zahara that much.’
However she insisted Pitt had been ‘good father’ to her daughter Zahara.
Deserted: After Mentewab left Almaz took the baby to the local council to ask for help, amid fears she was becoming dangerously malnourished. Almaz said in 2007: ‘I went to the Kebele (the local council) and said to them, ‘Please take the baby before she dies’
Deserted: After Mentewab left Almaz took the baby to the local council to ask for help, amid fears she was becoming dangerously malnourished. Almaz said in 2007: ‘I went to the Kebele (the local council) and said to them, ‘Please take the baby before she dies’
Alone but informed: Mentewab has not married or had any other children. She said she is aware of the divorce as her older brother who lives in America keeps her informed of any developments by reading out stories from the media.
Alone but informed: Mentewab has not married or had any other children. She said she is aware of the divorce as her older brother who lives in America keeps her informed of any developments by reading out stories from the media. She had also learned from the internet about the allegations made against 53 year old Pitt and firmly comes down on the side of Jolie in the couple’s high profile custody battle
‘Broken’ promise: A fixer then took the baby to Addis Ababa, and it is claimed that he promised he would keep in touch. Menteweb told MailOnline: ‘I do not want any money from Angelina. All I would like is to talk with Zahara’
Mentweb, pictured in 2007, left home after she struggled to earn enough money to feed her small family
‘Broken’ promise: A fixer then took the baby to Addis Ababa, and it is claimed that he promised he would keep in touch. Mentewab told MailOnline: ‘I do not want any money from Angelina. All I would like is to talk with Zahara’
‘I do not know who is in the right and who is in the wrong. It is very sad when a marriage breaks up, but I known they will be thinking about their children,’ she said.
‘I am not worried about Zahara in this as she will be looked after by them both. I know they love the children and they will not want any hurt to come to them.
I do not know who is in the right and who is in the wrong. It is very sad when a marriage breaks up, but I known they will be thinking about their children
‘I have read about what Brad Pitt is supposed to be like but I do not recognise this person. This is a man who has looked after and cared for my daughter. He is a good man and I hope that they can settle whatever it is between them and move on with their lives.’
In the days after Jolie filed for divorce she considered a restraining order against Pitt while child protection agencies in Los Angeles launched an investigation after a complaint their eldest son Maddox had been verbally abused on a private flight by a drunk Pitt.
The investigation was dropped but Jolie then insisted her soon to be ex-husband undergo drug testing four times a month.
That information came to light after Pitt filed court documents in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles to request that all records regarding custody issues be kept under seal.
Mentewab said she does not want to take sides in the custody battle, although she believes the six children should stay with their mother.
Humble: In this modest home, built by Mentewab’s father, she now earns a living by renting out two rooms but insists she does not want Angelina Jolie’s money
Humble: In this modest home, built by Mentewab’s father, she now earns a living by renting out two rooms but insists she does not want Angelina Jolie’s money
Birthplace: Zahara, who was originally named Yemasrech, which means ‘good news’, was conceived in the dusty Ethiopian town of Shone where Mentewab was staying with her grandmother
Birthplace: Zahara, who was originally named Yemasrech, which means ‘good news’, was conceived in the dusty Ethiopian town of Shone where Mentewab was staying with her grandmother
As Zahara lives with one of the world’s most high profile and recognizable names, Mentewab has had no trouble keeping up with her life.
Tucked away in a draw in one of the few pieces of furniture in her living room Mentewab has a file packed with newspaper cuttings and photos of her daughter and Jolie.
The photos from celebrity magazines are well worn where they have repeatedly handled.
Mentewab does not have any photos of her daughter on display as she does not want others in the town to know she gave away her daughter – even if it was to one of Hollywood’s most famous female stars.
Two cousins who live in an adjoining home are even now not aware that Zahara Jolie-Pitt is her daughter.
Mentewab does not like to talk about the adoption as it brings back painful memories – not just of losing her baby but of how she came to be pregnant.
Mentewab says she was 19 years old when she gave birth to a baby girl she called Yemasrech.
In her native Amharic language the name means ‘good news’.
She did not know the father as her child was conceived as a result of a brutal rape attack.
Mentawab was staying in her grandmother’s house in Shone when an intruder broke in an attacked her.
She was too scared to tell her parents but when the pregnancy began to show she was forced to admit the truth.
Initially disowned by her family, she went to live in the nearby town of Hosanna where she says she gave birth to the baby later named Zahara in January 2005.
Stunning but so poor: Such is the grinding poverty of the majority of families in Shone, where Mentewab was attacked, is that children have to work to support themselves and their wider family. Pictured: A camel walks through the fields on the outskirts of the town
Stunning but so poor: Such is the grinding poverty of the majority of families in Shone, where Mentewab was attacked, is that children have to work to support themselves and their wider family. Pictured: A camel walks through the fields on the outskirts of the town
Arid: In the blistering heat around Awassa, where Zahara was taken to be adopted, a man carries sticks on the plains in a symbol of the extreme hand-to-mouth existence of the families that Zahara came from
Arid: In the blistering heat around Awassa, where Zahara was taken to be adopted, a man carries sticks on the plains in a symbol of the extreme hand-to-mouth existence of the families that Zahara came from
Basic: In a clear sign of the poverty in Awassa, where Zahara was taken to be adopted, children play at the perimeter fence of the airport in the town
Basic: In a clear sign of the poverty in Awassa, where Zahara was taken to be adopted, children play at the perimeter fence of the airport in the town
Same generation, different lives: Young women around the same age as Zahara walk down the street in Shone, Ethiopia. Most go to school until the age of 16 but also work to support their families
Same generation, different lives: Young women around the same age as Zahara walk down the street in Shone, Ethiopia. Most go to school until the age of 16 but also work to support their families
Hard at work: Two boys brush the dusty streets in Awassa, Ethiopia, where Zahara was adopted
Hard at work: Two boys brush the dusty streets in Awassa, Ethiopia, where Zahara was adopted
With no money and nowhere to live, Mentewab said her daughter became severely malnourished and was close to death.
‘My baby was sick and I was very weak and sick after the birth,’ she said. In a previous interview, Mentewab’s mother Almaz Elfneh has told how she had looked after the baby when Mentewab ran away, unable to cope with the strain of earning enough and caring for her daughter.
I could not look after her and my mother, uncle and his wife suggested I put her up for adoption. I was so weak I agreed. I agreed that she should be put up for adoption but if I had my chance again I would have kept her
But Mentewab told MailOnline she was simply too sick to look after her daughter, and did not abandon her: ‘I could not look after her and my mother, uncle and his wife suggested I put her up for adoption. I was so weak I agreed. I agreed that she should be put up for adoption but if I had my chance again I would have kept her.
‘By taking her Angelina has saved my baby’s life and she also saved my life. I will always be very grateful to her for that.’
The Wide Horizons For Children agency in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, handled the adoption and on Jolie’s return to the US with Zahara reports surfaced that her birth mother had died from AIDS.
Twelve years on Mentewab is still angry that people were led to believe she had died from the disease.
She blames a ‘Mr Fix-it’ who handled the adoption for making up the story that she had died of AIDS.
There is no suggestion Angelina Jolie did anything illegal in the adoption, or was aware of Zahara’s apparent history.
Hard labour: A women brushes the dusty streets in Awassa, Ethiopia, where the girls who complete their education often have to move to have any chance of finding a job. It is in Awassa that Zahara was adopted
Hard labour: A women brushes the dusty streets in Awassa, Ethiopia, where the girls who complete their education often have to move to have any chance of finding a job. It is in Awassa that Zahara was adopted
Hand to mouth: Fishermen bring in the morning catch on Lake Awassa, near the large dusty town, population 258,808, where Angelina Jolie adopted her daughter in 2005
Hand to mouth: Fishermen bring in the morning catch on Lake Awassa, near the large dusty town, population 258,808, where Angelina Jolie adopted her daughter in 2005
Rural: Had 12-year-old Zahara remained in Awassa or Shone her aspirations would have been vastly different and by her late teens, as is the custom in Ethiopia, she would have been expected to be married and begun producing children. Pictured: Fishermen bring in the catch on Lake Awassa
Rural: Had 12-year-old Zahara remained in Awassa or Shone her aspirations would have been vastly different and by her late teens, as is the custom in Ethiopia, she would have been expected to be married and begun producing children. Pictured: Fishermen bring in the catch on Lake Awassa
After giving up her baby Mentewab continued to live with her parents and three sisters.
But seven years ago she moved to a town 100kms away with her father after he paid $133 for a small plot of land set back about 100 metres from the main road that runs through the town.
He built a one room house where Mentawab lives and two other rooms that she rents out for $20 a month and is her only income.
Her father died soon after building the homes and Mentawab now lives alone in the single storey concrete home covered by a corrugated iron roof.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4124360/Angelina-Jolie-s-adopted-Ethiopian-daughter-Zahara.html#ixzz4W6WYBEcL
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The post EXCLUSIVE – ‘Please just let me speak to my daughter’: Biological mother of Angelina Jolie’s adopted girl Zahara, 12, demands access from Ethiopia after Brangelina love split appeared first on Ethiopiandj.