During the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile, efforts to reduce poverty included the stealing of babies from their mothers, particularly those who were impoverished, and placing them in an illegal adoption network.
It is estimated that between 8,000 to 20,000 children were stolen from their mothers in the 70s and 80s and sent to live with families in North America and Europe. Some mothers were told that their newborns had died after giving birth and were denied seeing their bodies or given death certificates. Other mothers were told that they had to bring their children to the hospital for a blood test, only to never have them returned to them.
Some women were psychologically manipulated by being told that they were too poor to care for their children and already had other children to deal with. Additionally, some mothers were forced to sign papers they didn’t understand, and others were intimidated and too afraid to ask further questions during this time.
Elan and Micah Nardi were among the children stolen from their mother in 1986. The twins were snatched at a hospital by authorities when their mother brought one of her older children to the hospital.
The hospital staff offered to help look after the babies while their mom looked after their older sibling that was sick. However, when their mother went to find out where the twins were, the door was slammed in her face, and the children were gone by the time the police arrived.
The twins were eventually adopted by a couple in Massachusetts who were told that their mother wanted a better life for them and had to give them up. Years later, their adoptive mother saw a news story about a Texas firefighter and other kids who were stolen in Chile.
That’s when the twins started to dig into their past and reached out to nonprofits Connecting Roots and Nos Buscamos to help them learn about their heritage.
