Where can I get one of those cute, little "Ethernopians?"
Posted on 10/12/2006 11:29:04 PM PDT by MadIvan
A boy from an isolated village in Malawi's rugged bush was handed into the care of Madonna yesterday when a judge approved the pop star's adoption papers.
David Banda was born in a mud hut 18 months ago. His mother, Marita, gave birth without a nurse or medical equipment, save for a plastic sheet. She died days later.
The High Court in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, plucked David from his home village of Lipunga, where children in rags play in the dust beside women pounding maize, and gave him a symbol of Western popular culture for a foster mother.
Mr Justice Andrew Nyirenda granted Madonna an "interim order" allowing her to take the boy into custody. Today David is expected to leave Malawi with Madonna and her husband, the British film director Guy Ritchie, for London where he will start a life with her other children, Lourdes, nine, and Rocco, six.
Madonna and Ritchie recently admitted having had marital problems and insiders have speculated that an addition to the family will give their rocky relationship a fresh start.
David's father, Yohame Banda, 32, met his son's prospective foster parents during the court proceedings. Afterwards, he told journalists that he was "happy" that David would escape Malawi's grinding poverty.
Mr Banda added that he knew little about the boy's foster mother. "I'm not aware of Madonna. I don't know her. All I know is that she'll give my son a better life," he said. Mr Banda spoke at his home Lipunga, 120 miles west of Lilongwe. The border with Zambia runs along a range of hills behind his village and its people walk into the neighbouring country at will. While Mr Banda is a Malawian, David was born in Zambia to a Zambian mother.
Mr Banda, who was abandoned by his own father as a boy, was raised by Lipunga's chief, Henderson Geza.
"A few days after giving birth, David's mother died," said Mr Geza, 69. "Because of our poverty, we were unable to support the child. So we decided to send him to an orphanage."
David entered Home of Hope orphanage, about 40 miles from Lipunga. Madonna arrived in Malawi last Wednesday to help charities serving children who lost their parents to Aids. She visited this orphanage last week.
A teacher at Home of Hope said Madonna met David last Friday. "She was carrying the baby. She was smiling and she was saying 'ah, beautiful'," he said.
Then Mr Banda was informed that an "American woman" would like to adopt his son. Mr Geza said: "He said, 'I gave my son to the orphanage because I could not take care of him, so I would like him to be adopted'. I said, 'If that is what you want then, as your chief and as your stepfather, I give you my permission'."
Mr Banda told the chief that she was a "respectable American lady". Madonna's name was unknown to them.
"We were very happy," said Mr Geza. "We read the Bible and we thought 'this is coming from God'."
Yet for almost 40 years, Malawian law has banned foreigners from adopting children. Section Three of the Children Adoption Act states that an "adoption order shall not be made" in favour of anyone residing outside the country.
In 1993, however, Malawi signed the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. This says under article 21 that "inter-country adoption may be considered".
The government has agreed in principle to amend the Adoption Act and bring it into line with the convention. In its ruling yesterday, the High Court appeared to give the convention precedence over Malawian law.
But the people of Lipunga care little for legal niceties and wish David well.
"Here we are poor and we don't have enough food," said his cousin, Alex Phiri, 17. "Now David can make a bright future."
From a mud hut to the son of a slut...
The fact of the matter is, this child will be better off a spoiled Hollywood brat than starving in some African village, no matter what you think of Madonna. He will have opportunities that he would never have had in Malawi. No one critizing people who adopt from China or Russia, I don't see why African adoptions are being criticized here, calling an innocent child a "mud hut" baby.
Actually, Madonna "as a mom" might not be conservative like me, but she's a much more concerned about protecting her kids than you would think. She's been around the block a few times, and I guess she doesn't want her kids starting down that path...too soon, anyway.
I'd rather stay in Malawi.
While Madonna isn't the mother I would choose for a child, I agree with you. This child is better off with someone here adopting him. Even Madonna. While I understand the desire to keep children within the community where they were born and have kin, these third-world countries have done an atrocious job of making their countries the kind of place where you would want to raise a child. Regardless of her motives, she is contributing money to help the children in the country. And this child would not have been in a home with real parents. He would have been in an orphanage. Do they really think a child in their orphanages would be better off than with most American families? If they make their country a safe and economically viable placer to raise a family, then I might agree with the concerns they've expressed.
I hate the UN with every fiber of my being. Worthless pukes.
I've known people who adopted from orphanages here years ago and they described the process very similarly. Why do you describe it as a "slave auction?" Is she purchasing the child to work for her or is she finding a child to raise in her family? Where is the slave in that?
Don't forget scank 'ho.
Where can I get one of those cute, little "Ethernopians?"
Is that really true? Hmm.
Would it have been better for her to get one she didn't like?
The style aspect of this is alarming really. For some reason, those scores of fully grown dalmatians that had been dumped on street corners a few years after that movie, "101 Dalmatians", comes to mind. When the popularity of the movie had waned, and the cute dalmatian puppies the fickle crowd had adopted suddenly weren't puppies any more - it was the usual discard and run method.
Unfortunately, they are not givingthem away. From friends who adopted (or are trying) in China, alot of pockets have to be lined to get your place in the adoption line.
Madonna may be the 'Material Mom' but this little guy will have a much better chance at life as the youngest Richie child than if he stayed in Malawli.
C'mon, picking a child out of a lineup? How about a discreet
individual meeting with each of the potential adoptees?
They probably didn't line say, "let's go out to the lineup?" Maybe, let's be polite and greet our visitor...
You can take the baby out of the Mud Hut, but can you take the...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.