Despoina Ellen Lori Rubinstein, who was adopted at the age of four months in 1958 by an American Jewish family in New York, shared her personal story—starting from the orphanage in Patras where she was left with a note stating her name, Despo, and her date of birth, to finding her biological sister in New York and their joint efforts to locate their biological family in Greece.
She spoke on Voice of Greece and on the show “Our Global Voice” with Dimitris Kontogiannis.
Despoina, who has applied to regain the Greek citizenship she held by birth, said her adoptive family never hid the truth about her adoption and she always had full access to her records. As she grew older, she developed a stronger connection to her Greek heritage, attending events such as the 25 March Independence Day parades on Fifth Avenue in New York, among others.