Chapter 21-How was it to knock on those doors?

Chapter 21-How was it to knock on those doors?

From Nothing personal by Natalie K

November 22, 2025 · 12 min

About this episode

Natalie K shares her experience of seeking identity restoration through the Human Rights Office in Buenos Aires.

In May 2018, thanks to Paola Klechman and Lorena Quiroga — who, like me, had their identities substituted and sold by Doctor Bartucca — I arrived at the doors of the Human Rights Office inside the Civil Registry of Buenos Aires. As I mentioned before, by that time Lorena and Paola had been searching for years, so it was thanks to their earlier efforts that I eventually met Mercedes Yañez. The Human Rights Office, at least back then, was quite small. At one desk sat Mercedes; at another, Cecilia, who would later take her place after Mercedes retired. That office was dedicated to the restoration of biological identity. In other words, a person could go there with their birth certificate, and from that — along with the story they had been told about their adoption — an investigation would begin to identify possible biological mothers, who would then need to be visited in person. Based on the doctor’s name and the address appearing on the certificate, they could usually deduce in which hospital one might have been born (if the certificate didn’t already specify it). From there, the search continued in the Civil Registry archives, examining birth records around the listed date — which…

People in this episode

Host: Natalie K

Topics covered

  • human rights
  • identity restoration
  • adoption
  • search for biological parents
  • personal stories

Keywords

  • identity
  • human rights
  • adoption
  • biological identity
  • search
  • Civil Registry

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Human Rights Office, Civil Registry of Buenos Aires

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