German national hopes to find her mom soon

MANGALORE: ChayaMariaSchupp is a little more hopeful of meeting her biological mother, thanks to the Karnataka high court's directive to the government to provide her all assistance in her long and arduous quest. The 36-year-old resident of Dieburg, 30km from Frankfurt in southern Germany, was adopted by a German couple when she was about 6 years old under suspicious circumstances.
Chaya told TOI from Germany: "It's wonderful; I'm very excited by this verdict. I thank the judge for passing this order so quickly, understanding my turmoil and my state of mind. It has rekindled my hope of finding my biological mother. I know police have a lot of power and they will help me."
Asked if the staff at the Nirmala Social Welfare Center in Ullal will block her quest, Chaya said: "I don't know which way this will go. They may block my attempts but only time will tell."
Chaya is doing her doctorate on sex workers in Mumbai as part of an exchange programme between the University of Kassel, Germany and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. She has been working on her thesis for three years. Chaya said: "I chose the subject as it reminded me of my roots and struggle for survival. I also wanted to understand how these women managed their dual lives -- at home and the brothel. The data collection is over. I'll submit my thesis by this year-end.''
Chaya's search for her biological mother met a dead-end in 2009 when authorities at the welfare centre refused to show her the relevant records. The centre had a licence for inter-country adoptions but it did not renew this licence. Chaya has asserted she was at this centre when she was adopted.
Chaya fears that she might have even been kidnapped
The papers at Pro Infante -- a German adoption agency -- clearly show she was under the centre's care at the time of adoption.
Though Chaya says she was born a Hindu in Ullal, there's a certificate of baptism issued by St Sebastian's Church, Permannur (Ullal) which states she was baptized on January 15, 1980. When Chaya went there, the parish priest said there were no records about her baptism. Chaya said the baptism may have been done because the German couple who adopted her wanted a Christian child.
Her adoption was done through Maxim Lobo, a retired district and sessions judge of the Madras Court in the Madurai court on March 18, 1981. Interestingly, the letter written by Lobo to her adopted parents, Ingrid and Wolfgang Schupp, Frankfurt, states there was a problem in getting the adoption done in Madras and therefore it was done in Madurai.
Chaya smelt something was amiss and even alleged she may have been kidnapped. "I still feel I may have been a victim of child trafficking. If it was a legal adoption, why are the centre's authorities blocking my attempts to find my mother?'' she asked.
Her adoptive mother Ingrid, a retired primary school teacher, told TOI: "I don't feel sad she's searching for her biological mother. In fact, I feel happy. We have assisted Chaya's search for her mother since 1999. We stayed in Mangalore for two weeks, but hit a roadblock because of the lackadaisical attitude of the welfare centre authorities."
How did they come to adopt her? "We thought she was an orphan and adopted her,'' said Ingrid. The couple had three children of their own and also took another child into foster care.
The then Ullal inspector Ganapathy had told TOI: "Though Chaya has complained of kidnapping, there was no evidence of this. The incident happened almost two decades ago and there was no complaint from her mother that her daughter was missing or kidnapped. In these circumstances, we cannot register a case of kidnapping,'' he had said. Also, he said that Chaya herself mentions she'd been left at the centre.
Arun Dohle, India-born German national who was also on a similar quest, is helping Chaya in her mission. "This whole adoption procedure looked like a business transaction. If it was done legally, the authorities shouldn't have any problem showing her the records. The refusal clearly indicated there was something fishy,'' he said.
Chaya also tried to put pressure on the centre filing a complaint at the Ullal police station. The then inspector said at first the authorities allowed her to see the records, but later the records were not available. Chaya had asserted that the records shown were about infants, but she was older and she didn't see records of any adoption of older children.
Sr Veera, superior of the Nirmala Convent, told TOI: "Let the police come and inquire. We have nothing to hide. Earlier when they (Chaya and police) came, we showed all the documents we had. They were not satisfied. We have maintained up-to-date documents from 1984. She was adopted at Madurai and the only proof she was here is the baptismal certificate at St Sebastian's Church, Permannur, Ullal. We have nothing more to say on this issue."
Similar quests
For Arun Dohle, his quest for his biogical parents seemed impossible task. But after 17 years of litigation, Arun was reunited with his mother in Pune in 2010. He was adopted by a German couple in 1971.
"I was very happy at being reunited with my mother. Sadly, I don't know a single word of Marathi. I meet her whenever I'm in Pune and the last time was in November 2012. She was happy to meet me. I don't know when we (Chaya and he) will come to India," he told TOI. Arun, with the Supreme Court's permission, got access to records maintained by Kusumbai Motichand Mahila Seva Gram (KMMSG) and located his biological mother.
Eva Dohle, a Mangalorean, was adopted by a German couple Miachel and Gertrude Dohle. Eva was reunited with her biological mother in Mangalore in 2006 after a painful search along with her half-brother Arun Dohle through well wishers here. Eva said many barriers, cultural and social, have to be broken before relationships come into the open. She had also faced stiff opposition from the centre with regard to access to the records.