Dutch adoptee afraid time running out in search for birth parents

Dutch adoptee afraid time running out in search for birth parents PUBLISHED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 5:04am UPDATED : Sunday, 22 February, 2015, 8:54am Alice Woodhouse alice.woodhouse@scmp.com Follow SCMP SCMP Most Popular Viewed Shared Commented . China executes mining tycoon Liu Han, who had links to ex-security tsar Zhou Yongkang China ‘not ready to win wars’ despite PLA modernisation, says US report Rude awakening: Chinese tourists have the money, but not the manners A maid's tale: The story of one woman’s struggle to become a domestic helper Corrupt mainland drug firms 'fuelling crystal meth scourge', says UN official We recommend Lifestyle 16 Feb 2015 What Kanye West gets right, and what he gets wrong Comment 21 Feb 2015 Time to challenge power of the rich News 21 Feb 2015 Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew in hospital with… Lifestyle 10 Feb 2015 Five beverages that rehydrate the body better than any sports drink News 22 Feb 2015 PLA pilot scheme extends family reunion privileges to… News 22 Feb 2015 Hong Kong's biggest pro-Beijing party preparing for new blood News 22 Feb 2015 Hong Kong needs marine upgrades to lure luxury yachts, expert warns Comment 22 Feb 2015 Hong Kong's unwanted HK$1,000 banknote is the money launderer's… Videos 11 Feb 2015 Topless protesters jump on former IMF chief Strauss-Kahn's car at… Comment 11 Feb 2015 Why banker's 'leaving Hong Kong' blog jars with so many people Lifestyle 16 Feb 2015 If you go out with wet hair, will you catch a cold? Videos 28 Jan 2015 How noodles spice up China-Japan tensions Lifestyle 03 Feb 2015 Yang Fudong's Australia exhibition marks a move into digital… Property 04 Feb 2015 Making microflats liveable is simply a matter of good design Comment 20 Feb 2015 Smaller club of airlines taking passengers for a ride PROMOTED My First Class Life 01 Dec 2014 Rich List: The 20 Wealthiest Criminals Ever PROMOTED The Dodo 13 Feb 2015 Hospital Bends Rules To Let Woman Say Final Farewell To Her Dog Recommended by Verhagen with adopted dad. Photo: SMP A Dutch woman adopted in Hong Kong in the 1960s has turned to the Sunday Morning Post for help to find her birth parents after attempts to trace her roots through official channels failed for a second time. Anita Verhagen, now 48, was adopted at 10 months old in 1967 by a Dutch couple living in Shouson Hill. She was born in Tsan Yuk Hospital on June 4, 1966, to 24-year-old Lo Siu Ngor, who lived at 4 Marsh Road, Wan Chai. The girl's name at birth was Mei Chong. Despite living a happy life in the Netherlands, she has wanted to trace her birth parents for as long as she can remember, as she feels something is missing. "It's almost like having a scar on your soul, you're not complete," she said. Her latest attempt to trace them through the Red Cross - which offers help to adoptees trying to find their origins - failed to provide new leads and she was told that the case had reached the two-year time limit and was now closed. "I understand that organisations like the Social Welfare Department or Red Cross have to work through the proper channels, but that doesn't always lead to a solution," Verhagen said. Verhagen as a baby. Photo: SMP Hundreds of children were adopted from Hong Kong by families from overseas in the 1960s, but records from the time are patchy. The welfare department said: "It would not be uncommon for the adopted person [to be] unable to locate his/her birth parents." In the late 1990s, an earlier attempt by Verhagen to trace her roots through the International Social Service in Hong Kong brought up a surname for her possible birth father, Harrimount, who served in the British Army in the city. Harrimount was a 27-year-old soldier at the time of Verhagen's birth and it is thought her mother worked in the barracks. Records show her birth mother was a domestic worker for European families and was originally from the mainland. She was forced to give up her baby as she was unmarried and had financial difficulties. Verhagen is worried time may be running out. "We see movies and they find their birth parents but they've been in the grave for the past two months. That would be an absolute horror," she said. This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as Time tight in search for birth parents

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