Tamuna Museridze, like many other users on Facebook, accepted her father into her friends list. However, unlike many others, she wasn’t aware of their familial connection when she did so.
Tamuna, a resident of Georgia, began her search for her biological parents in 2016 after the passing of the woman who raised her. As she went through the possessions in her home, she stumbled upon her birth certificate which displayed an incorrect birth date.
This discovery led Tamuna to suspect she might have been adopted. She leveraged social media by creating a Facebook page titled Vedzeb (I’m Searching) to locate her biological parents.
Tamuna’s efforts on social media eventually bore fruit when she received a message from someone in a rural area of Georgia. The person informed her about a woman who had given birth in September 1984, which coincided with Tamuna’s birth time.
The sender believed this woman might be Tamuna’s mother and provided her name. Following this lead, Tamuna posted an appeal on Facebook seeking information about the woman and was contacted by someone claiming to be the woman’s niece. A DNA test confirmed that the two were indeed cousins.
Tamuna attempted to reach out to her biological mother but was unfortunately met with hostility as the woman did not wish to have any connection with her. Nonetheless, Tamuna was able to persuade her mother to disclose the name of her biological father, Gurgen Khorava.
Upon searching for Gurgen online, Tamuna discovered she didn’t need to look far. As she began searching for her parents, Tamuna also started aiding other families in reuniting, gaining recognition throughout Georgia. Gurgen was one of her followers during this time, and they had already connected on Facebook three years prior without realizing their relationship.
“He didn’t even know my birth mother had been pregnant,” Tamuna stated to the BBC. “It was a huge surprise for him.”
The two decided to meet in Gurgen’s hometown of Zugdidi, where they quickly developed a bond. “It was strange, the moment he looked at me, he knew that I was his daughter,” she said. “I had so many mixed emotions.”
Their reunion extended to meeting Gurgen’s family members, including half-siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles.
Tamuna has since gathered more insights from her mother, who explained that she and Gurgen were not in a relationship when she became pregnant. The pregnancy was kept a secret, and after giving birth, Tamuna’s adoption was arranged.