Parents reunited with ‘Baby 81′
Published: August 5, 2005
A four-month-old baby boy found alive in a pile of garbage after the tsunami struck Sri Lanka in December has been reunited with his parents.
Nicknamed “Baby 81,” the toddler — whose real name is Abhilash — was the subject of a desperate eight-week custody battle involving as many as nine couples.
All of them claimed the child was theirs, but only Murugupillai Jeyarajah and his wife Jenita followed through, providing DNA samples.
After weeks of worrying, waiting and fighting in court, DNA tests finally confirmed that the Jeyarajahs were the baby’s parents. (Full story)
On Wednesday, the Jeyarajahs took Abhilash from a nurse in the courtroom in the eastern town of Kalmunai, two days after a judge ruled in their favor.
The family has been preparing for the baby’s return, buying food and toys, and putting the final touches to their son’s room.
“We will be taking the baby first to the temple to say our prayers. Then we will take him to see our house that was destroyed by the tsunami, and then he’ll come to the place where we are staying now,” Jenita said.
The Jeyarajahs said they’ll keep their planned celebrations to welcome Abhilash low key.
They said they want to respect thousands of other grieving Sri Lankan families who’ll never be able to hug their children again.
Abhilash was known as “Baby 81″ since he was the 81st patient admitted that day to the Kalmunai Hospital until his identity was confirmed.
Kalmunai is located 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.
The Jeyarajahs say Abhilash was swept out of his mother’s arms by the tsunami, which also carried away their home and family records proving their claim to the infant.
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