“As our agency was also named in the complaint and since it wasn’t very helpful in our search for the children’s parents, we asked our friends in Chennai to find out more about the family. We wanted to know the real story. As a mother, it troubled me that the children might have been taken away from their mother without her permission,” said Julia.

With the names of the parents in hand, in July 2006, the Rollings’ friends located the house in Vaniambadi, where Akil and Sabila’s parents had lived earlier. In a few hours, they confirmed the Rollings’ worst fears: the children’s father Imam, was a drunk who used to beat up the kids and their mother Sunama. Imam had forged his wife’s signature and had given away the children to the adoption agency in exchange for money.

Sunama’s story

Sunama was married off when she was 12 and a few years later, Akil was born. Sameera, as Sabila was known then, was born later. In 1996, Sunama and Imam left for Chennai looking for a job, but ended up living on the pavements. “One morning when I woke up, my children and husband were not to be seen.”

Sunama then went back to her hometown alone. “I thought someone had kidnapped the children for their kidneys or had pushed them into begging. I had heard stories of that kind,” said Sunama, recalling how helpless she felt.

Imam resurfaced a few days later—completely drunk, wagging some notes and bragging how he had sold the kids. Sunama’s relatives and neighbours beat him him. “I haven’t seen him ever since and I didn’t want to,” she said.

... contd.