| The singer was not allowed to become a foster mother Officials in East African Malawi demonstrated amazing respect for the law, as they did not dare to satisfy the desire of the famous American pop diva Madonna to become an adoptive mother for a one-year-old baby from this country. The nine-day charity tour of the singer, who this time performed exclusively as a good fairy for African orphanages, did not end with a happy ending at all. Having looked after a child in one of the shelters, the famous singer, bypassing the usual bureaucratic procedures, received temporary permission to adopt. But she could not immediately take little David Banda to the United States - human rights activists drew the attention of officials to the threat of violating the letter of the Malawian adoption law.
And today the Malawian public association “Eyes of a Child” and several other non-governmental organizations intend to apply to the court of the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, with a petition to prohibit the granting of 48-year-old Madonna and her husband, English director Guy Ritchie, the right to adopt one-year-old David, ITAR reports. TASS. According to the laws in force in Malawi, only citizens of this country, but not foreign citizens, can adopt orphans. In addition, a rather long probationary period has been established for potential parents - for 18 months they must communicate with the child under the supervision of employees of the child protection department. Practice shows that, in general, the adoption procedure in the country takes up to two years.
Naturally, for world celebrities who for once reached one of the poorest corners of Africa, the Malawian authorities were ready to make an exception. Madonna and Guy Ritchie, who are raising two children - the singer's ten-year-old daughter Lourdes and their six-year-old son Rocky - even took little David from the orphanage on October 9, and on October 12 they received temporary permission from the court to have custody of the Malawian boy. His natural father, David Yohane Banda, also gave consent to the famous couple’s adoption of the child. His wife died from complications during childbirth, but the man was unable to support the child on his own and placed him in an orphanage. “They're a wonderful couple,” he said after meeting with potential adoptive parents in court. “Madonna asked me a lot of questions, she and her husband, apparently, really like David, and I’m happy for him.”
However, human rights activists, unlike judges and officials, not only drew attention to the violation of the law, but also allowed themselves to doubt Madonna’s sincerity, suspecting this act was a purely PR move, designed to add new tones to the image of the singer and aspiring writer. True, information about the pop diva’s intention to adopt a black baby did not come from Madonna’s circle, but from representatives of the Malawi government. The latter, however, did not remain unprofitable. Even without having yet received the child she liked, the singer promised to donate $3 million to programs to support Malawian orphans and make a documentary about their plight. Yulia KHOMCHENKO |
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