In a remarkable tale of the internet’s transformative power, Georgian twins Amy Khvitia and Ano Sartania, who were sold to separate families after birth, have found each other again through a dance routine and a TikTok video.

The online world is full of entertaining clips and viral challenges, but sometimes it becomes a force for extraordinary good. In 2021, TikTok played a crucial role in reuniting Amy and Ano, who discovered they were long-lost sisters. Amy first glimpsed her twin on Georgia’s Got Talent in 2014, but it wasn’t until 2021, when Ano stumbled upon a TikTok video of Amy, that the pieces of their connection fell into place.

Despite seven years passing since Amy’s initial discovery, Ano recognized her sister and embarked on a mission to find her. After sharing the TikTok video on a university WhatsApp group, someone familiar with Amy connected them on Facebook. Meeting in person for the first time, Amy and Ano were struck by the uncanny resemblance and knew they had to be related.

As they delved into their histories, the shocking truth emerged: both had been adopted separately in 2002, a few weeks apart, after being born at Kirtskhi maternity hospital. The details on their birth certificates were incorrect, and their adoptive families were misled into believing there were unwanted babies available for adoption.

The twins confronted their adoptive families and learned about the alleged Georgian ‘baby black market.’ The adoptive mothers were reportedly told that the babies were unwanted, leading to an illegal exchange of money. The twins’ birth mother, Aza, believed her children had died after falling into a coma during childbirth.

The revelation of this Georgian adoption operation has broader implications, with journalist Tamuna Museridze uncovering similar issues in her own adoption and working to reunite numerous families. She described the scale as unimaginable, estimating up to 100,000 babies were stolen in a systemic manner.

In 2002, the Georgian government initiated an investigation into child trafficking, leading to changes in adoption legislation in 2005 and strengthened anti-trafficking laws in 2006. The BBC reached out to the Georgian Interior Ministry for more details but was reportedly told that specific information couldn’t be disclosed due to data protection.