Edinburgh man abandoned as a baby travels to Morocco in search of birth parents
- trushali Kotecha
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Digital reporter
Published 18th Jan 2026, 13:47 GMT
An Edinburgh man who was abandoned as a baby on the streets of Morocco has travelled overseas in search of his birth parents.
Ryan Anderson, from Leith, first learned he was adopted aged 18, a revelation which left him feeling ‘devastated and ashamed.’
Born in February 1990, Ryan was cared for at the Mohammed V Hospital in El Jadida for the first months of his life before moving to the UK with his adoptive parents at six-months-old.
In recent years Ryan has travelled to Morrocco in search of his biological family, appearing on Moroccan TV and radio stations to appeal for information. Although the 36-year-old has visited hospitals, courts and registry offices, Ryan admitted he has little information to go on with many enquiries ‘leading to a dead end.’
Ryan first visited Morocco in June 2022 before returning in January 2023 and September 2024. Flying out to Morocco again on January 12, his current trip marks Ryan’s fourth attempt to find answers.
Ryan said '‘I really hope the power of telling my story will help me find my family’ | Ryan Anderson
Ryan said: “I want to find someone in this world who is blood related. I really want to find any member of my family; cousin, uncle, auntie, mother or father - anyone. If I find any relation I really just want to give them a hug.
“If my family have died I would like to know. If I can't find any family then at least I will know that I have tried everything possible. I hope with the power of social media and all the Moroccan people plus my hard work searching that I will find something.”
After learning he was adopted in 2008, Ryan said he kept it a secret for several years, using travelling as a form of escapism and ‘running away from what was going on in my mind.’
Speaking to the Evening News, Ryan said: “My mum was a great mum, but she was scared to tell me because she loved me.
“The day I was told I was devastated. I was upset, I ran out of the house crying and I was ashamed. And I never told anyone for 13 years - I made it that much a big deal. And as time went by it started to play on my mind more and more.
“I was a party animal my previous life but that was just masking my secret of being adopted. The Covid lockdowns were a very vital part of my life because I couldn’t travel anymore and that’s when I started doing some self-development and self-discovery work.
“I later opened up to people about being adopted and part of my self-development journey was deciding to go and search for family and finding out who I am.”
‘I really hope the power of telling my story will help me find my family’
Ryan Anderson, from Leith, was born in El Jadida in Morocco in February 1990 | Ryan Anderson
Alongside Ryan’s efforts to find answers from the authorities, Ryan has been vocal on social media in a bid to find information. He said: “It's a bit like being like a private investigator trying to find out about my family.
“I’ve created my own community, joining all the Facebook groups in Morocco and the UK, speaking to influencers, and asking other people to share my story. So this is like a network I'm building up and it's nice to receive lots of support from people. I really hope that the power of telling my story will help me find my family."
Ryan said: “Unfortunately the hospital that looked after me is closed now and they have built a new building so I need to search in the archives, but I have managed to find my name in one of the books from 1990.
“Searching for answers can be timely. Sometimes I’ll go to the hospital and wait a couple of hours and then get told to go to a different place and then wait a few more hours.
“Recently they found six women who gave birth on my birthday, but they need authorisation from a commissioner before they’re allowed to contact anyone. But even if they do there's no guarantee that I was born on that day, but at least it's something to go by. But it's very frustrating knowing that there are some names on the paper and I can't access them – so yeah, there's a lot of obstacles.”
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