For decades, I watched my mother grieve her baby who died at birth. When I learned what really happened to my sister, my sadness turned to rage

Forty-five years whitethorn person passed, but Chrisanthi Hronis tin inactive consciousness the nurses' vice-like grip astir her arms, past the prick of the needle.

She had conscionable fixed commencement - to a girl, she was told - but ne'er held the kid successful her arms. The past happening she remembers earlier everything went acheronian was watching the baby being whisked distant by the midwife.

She was excessively anemic to outcry retired adjacent though each portion of her assemblage was screaming connected the inside.

Hours later, Chrisanthi woke successful the aforesaid infirmary furniture successful Athens. A doc came by and told her the babe had died astatine birth. She was not allowed spot her.

No - that didn't marque sense: She had heard her babe crying, past saw her being taken away. In the frantic moments that followed, Chrisanthi, inactive excessively numb to move, began to portion unneurotic what mightiness person happened.

She had arrived astatine the infirmary successful labour 24 hours earlier and consecutive distant unit were asking her if she would see giving up her kid for adoption.

'There is an American couple outside successful the hallway who would springiness the babe a blessed location successful the United States,' they said.

Chrisanthi, an unwed parent from a spiritual family, baulked astatine the idea. Her gestation successful 1979 whitethorn person been a ungraded connected the tiny Greek land she called home, but she was nevertheless determined to rise the child.

And the baby's father, Gregorios, portion nary longer her boyfriend, had said helium would bash the close happening and enactment them. 

But her protests fell connected deaf ears. She did not cognize it astatine the time, but the woody had already being done. She was ne'er going location with her baby.

While she cannot beryllium sure, Chrisanthi, who was 29 astatine the time, suspects the American mates was boarding a formation with her babe astir the clip she woke successful hospital.

It's imaginable the kid has nary thought she was adopted, adjacent to this day.

Speaking to FEMAIL with the assistance of her second-born daughter, Costadina, translating each achy word, Chrisanthi reveals: 'It's been the heartache of my life.' 

Chrisanthi's baby, who would present beryllium 45, is 1 of the 'Lost Children of Greece' - the word fixed to Greek children who were stolen from their mothers and adopted to different countries from the precocious 1940s onwards.

Weeks aft her kid was stolen from her, Chrisanthi was connected an migrant vessel bound for Australia. Still earthy from her trauma and with a caller decennary connected the horizon, she wanted a caller commencement and her father, who was disgusted she had go pregnant, was gladsome to spot her gone.

Fresh disconnected the boat, she soon met the antheral who would go her hubby astatine the Parramatta Greek Orthodox church. She told him she had mislaid a babe weeks earlier sailing retired to Australia, but helium agreed to wed her anyway.

The mates went connected to person 2 children together: girl Costadina, who was calved 2 years aft her older sister's abduction, followed by a son. 

While Chrisanthi had her fears from the time it happened, it would beryllium years earlier she learned definitively what had happened to her archetypal child.

Her babe miss didn't dice astatine birth. Instead, Chrisanthi's father, who 'wanted thing to bash with the child', organised a forced adoption.

Chrisanthi learned this shocking information due to the fact that her older sister, who had ever been her father's favourite, confessed to helping transportation retired the deed.

The household had bribed unit astatine the infirmary to archer Chrisanthi her babe had died. Then the kid had been fixed to the American mates waiting successful the hallway and whisked disconnected the United States to statesman a caller life.

The information broke Chrisanthi's heart. Now aged 79, she wants closure, and truthful does her daughter.

'Mum was the champion mum. We conscionable privation to cognize if my sister had a bully beingness and privation her to cognize that mum didn't privation her to beryllium adopted,' her daughter Costadina told FEMAIL from her location successful occidental Sydney, wherever she works arsenic a baker.

Gregorios, the girl's father, besides went connected to wed and person 3 children, who privation to conscionable their long-lost sibling arsenic well.

When she learned arsenic an big what had happened to her mother's archetypal child, Costadina made it her ngo to uncover the truth.

She began by trying to way down the infirmary staff. Most had died oregon were unreachable, but aft joining forces with Gregorios, they tracked down a caregiver who had been moving astatine the ward that night. 

They recovered her location code - but it was a dormant end.

'He knocked connected the doorway and asked her questions but she conscionable stood determination and said nothing,' she said.

Every pb since has been fruitless.

Even genealogy websites, wherever users taxable DNA to observe relatives each implicit the world, haven't been capable to connect Costadina with her mislaid sister.

Now, having seemingly exhausted each path, she is hoping someone volition recognise themselves successful her ain puerility photos, oregon that someone looking for answers implicit their adoption 45 years agone volition work her story.

'She was calved connected August 20, 1979,' she said.

All the household has to spell connected is that the babe was girl - but Costadina reluctantly admits they can't adjacent beryllium 100 per cent definite astir this.

'There were truthful galore lies - they could person lied astir that, too. And everyone progressive has died now, truthful we volition ne'er get those answers.'

The signifier of forced adoption was truthful commonplace successful Greece successful the twentieth period that determination person been respective TV shows astir reuniting mislaid household members. 

Dozens of Facebook groups beryllium reconnecting parents with their children and siblings with 1 another. So far, Costadina hasn't recovered immoderate leads connected societal media.

Costadina went nationalist with her hunt for her sibling respective months ago.

She was inundated with radical sharing akin stories of forced adoption, not conscionable successful Greece, but each crossed Europe.

One pistillate whose parent was taken astatine commencement from Macedonia successful 1976 commented: 'I person thought astir it truthful galore times and person wanted to commencement a hunt conscionable similar this.

'It's unbelievable that this happened and determination is decidedly thing happening successful that portion astir this time.'

Another added: 'My large uncle and his woman had the nonstop aforesaid communicative happened to to them In Greece, this was astir 65 years ago.

'This communicative and the 1 you shared are heartbreaking I can’t judge this was adjacent possible.'