TikTok reunites sisters as victims of child trafficking find each other online

The impact of social media can be remarkably powerful when it exceeds expectations, as evidenced by the reunion of Amy and Ano. These twin sisters, separated at birth, managed to reconnect after 11 years through the the video-sharing app TikTok.

As they delved into their past, they discovered that they were part of a larger issue in Georgia, where thousands of babies had been stolen from hospitals and sold, a practice that continued as recently as 2005.

The tale of Amy and Ano's discovery began when they were 12 years old. One day, Amy Khvitia, watching her favorite TV show, Georgia's Got Talent, at her godmother's house, saw a girl dancing the jive who bore an uncanny resemblance to her.

Seven years in November 2021, Amy, now 19, posted a TikTok video. Ano Sartania, also 19, and living in Tbilisi received the video from a friend and found it intriguing that the girl looked like her.

Ano attempted to find the girl with the pierced eyebrow online but couldn't locate her. A connection was made when a friend who knew Amy saw the message and linked them on Facebook.

Amy immediately recognised Ano as the girl from Georgia's Got Talent. 

Both were born in Kirtskhi maternity hospital in western Georgia, but their birth certificates indicated birthdays a couple of weeks apart. 

Despite the unlikelihood of being sisters, let alone twins, the similarities were too striking.

They shared a love for the same music, a passion for dancing, and even the same hairstyle. They also uncovered that they both had a genetic disorder called dysplasia, a bone disorder.

They arranged to meet and saw each other in person for the first time at Rustaveli metro station in Tbilisi.

"It was like looking in a mirror,” said Amy. At that moment, she realised they were twins.

The twins decided to confront their families when both learned for the first time that they had been adopted separately, a few weeks apart in 2002. Further investigation revealed inaccuracies on their official birth certificates, including incorrect birth dates.

Amy's mother, unable to conceive, was informed by a friend about an unwanted baby at the local hospital. She was required to pay the doctors but could then take the baby home to raise as her own. Ano's mother was told the same story.

Neither family was aware that the girls were twins, and despite paying a substantial amount for the adoptions, they claim they were unaware that it was illegal. 

During a period of turmoil in Georgia, with hospital staff involved, they believed the adoptions were legitimate.

Both families refrained from disclosing the amount of money exchanged, leaving the twins to wonder if their biological parents had sold them for profit.

In a hotel in Leipzig, Amy and Ano reunited with their birth mother. 

“Their mother explained she had been ill after giving birth and fell into a coma. When she awoke, hospital staff told her that shortly after the babies were born, they had died. She said that meeting Amy and Ano has given her life new meaning. Although they are not close, they are still in touch,” according to BBC.

After decades of child trafficking allegations, Georgia opened the probe in 2022. The investigation, however, had limited data available to proceed. The Georgian government has not released the report yet.