She thought her mother gave her away. Like thousands of Chileans, she was taken
María Hastings, 37, has always known she was adopted, but she didn't know that her mother didn't give her up willingly. On Sunday she met her biological family for the first time.
![She thought her mother gave her away. Like thousands of Chileans, she was taken](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7121457.1708549662!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/chile-stolen-babies.jpg)
![María Hastings, who lives in Tampa, FL, embraces for first time her biological mother upon her arrival to the airport in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Hasting trip was organized by Connecting Roots, an organization that helps reunite with their Chilean biological families children who were taken to be put up for adoption during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix) A woman holds her hand over her face as she embraces another, older woman, in an airport.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7121457.1708549662!/cpImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/chile-stolen-babies.jpg)
María Hastings, 37, has always known she was adopted, but she didn't know that her mother didn't give her up willingly. On Sunday she met her biological family for the first time.