An Edinburgh man who was abandoned by his parents at birth in Morocco has recently travelled to the North African country to continue his voyage to find clues about the reason he was adopted.
Ryan Anderson, 32, previously spoke with Edinburgh Live about his upbringing and just how little he knew about his real parents. All Ryan knows is that he was handed in to a hospital in Morocco shortly after he was born and then adopted by a British family who brought him to Scotland.
Ryan was named Rachid by his adoptive parents, who he refers to as him mum and dad. But he changed his name when he turned 19 and was not aware of the story of his past until he turned 18.
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In June 2022, Ryan flew out to Morocco for five days in a quest to find more information about his real past and who his parents may have been. Despite his journey being a relatively small one, he said he had a great time and may have to visit again shortly to continue to plug away in a search for answers.
While in Morocco, Ryan visited the hospital at which he was handed into, found a distant relative and appeared on national news to talk about his powerful and moving story which was broadcast to millions.
Catching up with Edinburgh Live after his trip, he said: "I actually missed my train when I got to Morocco so I had to get a three-hour taxi to the hospital where I was handed in as a newborn baby.
"They then sent me to another place which was like a registry office and because I got there later than planned they were closing. I got an hour with them and they told me to go to another place and said they would help me. Everybody was fascinated by my story when I was telling them but it was difficult to communicate in English.
"Luckily I had a friend over there who was driving me and she is actually a DNA match with myself to it turns out we're very distant cousins. Everyone in Morocco was so friendly and said they were praying for me to find some answers related to my birth.
"I found out that the nurse that took care of me when I was handed in to the hospital had sadly died which is a shame as I was told she remembers every child that is orphaned. I was sent to three different offices by different authorities and then I'm thinking 'what's going on here'.
"At the third office I was asked to provide money to one of the workers and he produced a sheet from a book in one of the archives and it had my name on it so I was really interested that I was in a book over there. The office then sent me back to the hospital so I went around in one big circle before someone would speak to me.
"I went back with the sheet of paper and I was told the person who has to access the archives isn't available until Monday to help me out and I had only planned on being in the country for a few days."
Ryan did, however, meet up with his foster family in Morocco and was overwhelmed by their kindness as they also tried to help him where possible. They volunteered to go to the office for me on Monday after my flight back but I hope to return again soon.
He continued: "For the rest of the trip I just enjoyed the culture and treated it like a mini holiday. I went to two TV studios in Morocco and after I got speaking to people, one crew done a Facebook Live with me so we did an interview just off the cuff.
"They broadcast to three million people so it was pretty cool. Another TV studio asked me to record a quick two minute video and send it to them. A friend translated in Arabic and that was to be released a few weeks after I left.
"We also went to Marrakech and did some sightseeing which was fun. When I got back, people were messaging me saying they saw me on TV in Morocco. My foster family went to the hospital with the documents I left but they just kept being asked for more money.
"I was a bit annoyed as I obviously needed to be there and I don't know why the people at the hospital didn't say the person who can access the archives wasn't available. They left it until the last minute to tell me that. The impression I got was that nothing ever happens quickly in Morocco and everyone is always late, so me turning up with only a few days to spare didn't go well."
Ryan said that when he got back to Edinburgh, the BBC got in touch to say they are considering taking his story on to document in a new program with Stacey Dooley. Various adoption charities and bloggers had also been in touch to share Ryan's touching story to increase his exposure.
Ryan added: "If I get accepted for the BBC program, then I obviously have their help in finding my family, but if not, I'll head over there for round two. I'm not saying I failed over there but I didn't exactly get the answers I wanted which is why I want to try again and this time stay for a week or two until the hospital give me a definite answer."
Ryan took part in a casting but was unfortunately informed that his family search was too complicated to pursue.
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