Madonna to Adopt a baby

[fashionicon]

Many, many children in Africa who have parents are in orphanages. The child's parents may be stricken with diesase, struggling, etc, etc.

Essentially, they already are orphans.

As I stated before, 20 MILLION african children will be orphans by the year 2015. Operative words in that sentence being, "will be". So if people are annoyed with Madonna now, just wait what a "trend" it will be in a couple of years.

 

[taperjeangirl]

The thing is, if Madonna was willing to adopt this baby, she obviously loves the child- even if she's doing it for some degree of publicity, everyone knows it takes a lot of love and patience to deal with the ups and down of raising a child.

But lets be honest... this man's wife and other children died of malaria, and the baby was in an orphanage- he obviously wasn't into raising the child himself until there was publicity involved. If the baby is raised in Africa, he will suffer a life of poverty, disease, and in all honesty there would be no way out. In England he will be afforded the world's best education, two parents, and unlimeted opportunity. I would feel this way if any middle class/upper middle class couple from a first world country was looking to adopt an African baby.

All I know is that every GOOD PARENT that I've ever met has wanted what is best for their child, even if it isn't with them.

My stepsisters' mother was a crackhead who 'loved' her children- should they have stayed with her instead of their stable, hard working father because she "loved" them?

My arguement is stability. So good old Madge...she adopts a poor baby and she sits and does drawing with him, plays trains, takes him to the park to ride on his bike....no wait a sec thats the nannys job....

Apparantly two hours after he arrived she was at a Pilates lesson.....great start to the childs first night in a new home.

 

[eternitygoddess]

Because, to most people, American children don't need it. They are in the system, but they're also in the best country in the world. They can still grow up to be somebody, because 'everyone' can grow up to be a somebody. African, Asian, and Easter European children are not awarded those opportunities.

They in what system? American kids without parents are like any kid without parents. They need the family unit too. Sadly everyone's forgotten about them because they're all running to Asia and Africa to adopt.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

^ Emotionally, they really do need families just as much as the next kid. But I think that a lot of families think [falsely] that they are doing something extra special by taking in a child from a third world country.

Also, girls in China are less likely to ever be adopted, as are Ethiopian kids in general. But with everyone feeling like that, the American orphans are being ignored.

 

[maghy7]

I don't get why people have to give her such a hard time, I do believe this whole thing has been taken out of proportion by the media, and the reality is that a child has been given a chance in life and I do not think for a single second that Maddona used this as a publicity stunt, come on she is MADONNA for god's sake she doesn't need to pull stunts to give her self any more publicity than what she already has.

I'm happy for the child and think he will have a really nice life with them.

That's all I have to say.

 

[eternitygoddess]

^Er...Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, this huge Hollywood star, and he's pulling stunts left and right. What makes you think Madonna won't?

 

[fashionicon]

^ Huh?

What does Tom Cruise have to do with this situation? How is his situation even relevant to this one?

 

[mellowdrama]

Associated Press
Madonna Adoption Hearing Rescheduled
Associated Press 10.27.06, 6:43 AM ETThe father of the 13-month-old Malawian boy Madonna is trying to adopt insisted Friday that he supports her plan, and criticized human rights activists here who want the courts to review the process.

"I am surprised what these guys are up to," Yohane Banda told journalists outside the courtroom where a hearing on the human rights group's challenge was held Friday. "Me and my family agreed with the adoption. I just want these people to leave my son alone."

The Human Rights Consultative Committee, a coalition of 67 rights groups, has petitioned the court to make sure no Malawian laws were broken in the adoption process, and to make the committee a party to the adoption so it can help assess Madonna's fitness as a mother.

Judge Andrew Nyirenda held a closed, 90-minute hearing on Friday. He then set another hearing for Nov. 13 to allow lawyers for the committee to submit additional arguments on why the adoption process should be reviewed and why the committee should be a party.

Alan Chinula, the lawyer for Madonna and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, said he told the judge Friday that no laws had been broken.
"We followed the adoption procedures to the letter," said Chinula.

Justin Dzonzi, the chairman of the human rights committee, said it was not trying to block the adoption but wanted to be a party to the process to make sure Malawian laws were respected. "We want to be part of the assessment of Madonna to ascertain that she is a suitable mother," he said.

Typically, prospective parents are required to stay in Malawi during an 18-month evaluation period. But the judge who granted an interim custody order to the Ritchies on Oct. 12 said the issue of residence is not specified in the laws. David Banda was taken to London, where Madonna has a home and where a social worker will check on him for the next 18 months.

Madonna, appearing on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," said Wednesday that she had done nothing wrong, had not used her celebrity to influence Malawian officials and wanted to give David a better life.

The boy's father is a subsistence farmer whose wife died shortly after childbirth - a relatively frequent occurrence in this impoverished African nation, which suffers from high rates of maternal and infant mortality. Yohane Banda, who left his son with the Malawian orphanage where Madonna found him, lost two other children to malaria in infancy.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Banda said authorities had not made it clear to him that he was giving up his son "for good" when he signed adoption papers earlier this month. But Thursday, he shifted the blame to human rights groups.

"I was telling these rights groups that I wasn't selling my son. I said I wouldn't ... sell my son for anything but I had agreed with Madonna before a judge so my comments were taken out of context and I hope Madonna is not angry," he said.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press.

Yes, do not inspire the wrath of Madonna. That whole last quote reads awfully strange. Does the ellipsis mean something's been taken out, or does it signify a pause in speech? I'd love to see a video of this so as to determine the amount and type of coercion being applied. The quote "I said I wouldn't...sell my son for anything but I had agreed with Madonna before a judge so my comments were taken out of context and I hope Madonna is not angry," scans similarly to "I said I wouldn't...have sex with prostitutes for anything but I agreed with my wife before God so my comments were taken out of context and I hope my wife is not angry." Not that I'm a linguist or symbolic logicist or anything, but this statement isn't admitting anything, now is it..."I said I wouldn't...club seals for pleasure for anything but I agreed with Paul McCartney before a Canadian minister so my comments were taken out of context and I hope Paul is not angry."

Clever bastard, that Mr. Banda.

Now, I want more happy baby pictures! Happy, rich baby pictures!

 

[mellowdrama]

And a very thoughtful analysis of what is really at stake, the impact of institutionalization of orphans via programs like Kabbalah Center's "Raising Malawi":

http://allafrica.com/stories/200610260873.html

Africa faces many challenges, and coping with orphans is not something that, as a rule, attracts the extended focussed attention of African governments. But institutional life, even in the most caring society, is difficult at the best if times, harder, if the society is also poor. Institutional life in modern day Africa must be bleak indeed. A sizeable chunk of expenditure on orphaned children in Africa comes from agencies financed externally. Madonna is one such agent. It is reported that she has pledged £1.6m to support orphanages that look after the estimated 900,000 orphans in Malawi. Given the size of the orphan problem in Africa, and the problems associated with living in institutions, is it a good idea to institutionalise the solution? One of the concerns of those who have to plan for these things are mindful of, is the impact of so many young people on the future development of Africa. How will African societies cope when so many of its population will be coming into adulthood after years of institutionalised living?


Irene Mureithi, the head of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya, is on record as having suggested that focus instead should be placed on assisting the family to look after the Davids of Africa. In some societies family credit is used to underpin and support poor and socially excluded children. As a first step, the fathers and mothers of the many Davids in Malawi and elsewhere on the continent might be supported to look after their children, using the funds made available by external agents, and one hopes increasingly from internal sources. David has a father. He also has at least one grandparent, and an uncle. Is it too far fetched to think that one of David's relatives, if they had been provided with regular income support, would have assumed responsibility for looking after David? What benefit cost analyses have been done to see if this would not be a better way of addressing the problem, than institutionalising so many children? The funds coming into the continent to help combat AIDS and its effects might well be better spent on a programme similar to this. Finally, in addition to the extended family, a scheme such as this might be broadened to include people of appropriate standing not related to the potential adoptee. Maybe African governments and concerned others should take ideas like Irene Mureithi's more seriously.

 

[tifa]

That's a good article that I'd certainly agree with. These people need the opportunity for education and employment knowing that they can still support their families. Madonna is apparently shocked to see 8 years olds running households. Wouldn't we all love to see the 8 years olds at school? Of course but its not possible when families aren't given help. There would be a lot of one parent families run by older kids here if the government didn't distribute benefits and that's something to think about.

 

[misssakura]

I watched the whole Oprah interview with Madonna. I find it odd that

a) These strangers are trying to get a court injunction...why not spend their time on something more productive?
b) That people seem to be so proud of the adoption laws in Malawi. They're totally stupid in my opinion and slow progress
c) That the whole thing has been blown so out of proportion
d) That people think the whole thing is a 'publicity stunt'. Jesus Christ, nobody is that heartless to adopt a child as an accessory, it's something you do out of love, as a lifetime commitment. Okay I know I only have a cat but I took him on with responsibility even though the people around me didn't agree with me just because I knew in my heart it was right to take him in. I'll have him for the next 20 years and its not just a phase. You don't take on a living being as part as a fad or phase. So it's ignorant for people to even spout that nonsense.

 

[mellowdrama]

Credit for adorable baby seal photo which makes everything in this world okay:

http://www.wildfoto.com/wildlife_harpseal.html

 

[Anastasia]

I only heard parts of the interview on the radio. I do think the media is having a field day. I don't think Madonna is evil, but I do think it's a stunt in the sense that every single thing she's done for the last 20 years is a stunt - Madge is an extremely driven, ambitious, calculating attention wh*re. Not that there's anything wrong with that, look at where sheer determination and a talent for manipulating image and the media has gotten her. Her biggest talents have always been the non-musical kind.

Her word is that the father never visited David. If true, then I take back my previous objections. However, this completely contradicts early reports, reports done when everything was rosy and the father was not objecting. So I'm not sure what I believe. I also want to know what kind of crappy doctor allows a baby to fly with pneumonia.

My biggest WTF moment was when she said kids don't ask questions. Say what?! What kind of parent/babysitter/teacher/person who has ever been in the same room with a child for more than 30 seconds claims that kids don't ask questions? That's all they do! Either she doesn't spend any time with her children at all, or her children are brain dead, mute, or both.

Interesting, kind of disturbing stuff about the faux Kabbalah aspect of this, mellowdrama.

 

[brokenenglish]

I only heard parts of the interview on the radio. I do think the media is having a field day. I don't think Madonna is evil, but I do think it's a stunt in the sense that every single thing she's done for the last 20 years is a stunt - Madge is an extremely driven, ambitious, calculating attention wh*re. Not that there's anything wrong with that, look at where sheer determination and a talent for manipulating image and the media has gotten her. Her biggest talents have always been the non-musical kind.

Agree 100%. I am not saying she adopted for publicity but she knew exactly the hype it would cause.

 

[brokenenglish]

d) That people think the whole thing is a 'publicity stunt'. Jesus Christ, nobody is that heartless to adopt a child as an accessory, it's something you do out of love, as a lifetime commitment. Okay I know I only have a cat but I took him on with responsibility even though the people around me didn't agree with me just because I knew in my heart it was right to take him in. I'll have him for the next 20 years and its not just a phase. You don't take on a living being as part as a fad or phase. So it's ignorant for people to even spout that nonsense.

Nobody but her knows her true intentions for adopting...
it is sick to think people adopt for reasons other than love but people have also done far worse.
I don't think it's ignorant to think that way...
whenever you mention Madonna publicity stunts usually follow close behind.

 

[mellowdrama]

My biggest WTF moment was when she said kids don't ask questions. Say what?! What kind of parent/babysitter/teacher/person who has ever been in the same room with a child for more than 30 seconds claims that kids don't ask questions? That's all they do! Either she doesn't spend any time with her children at all, or her children are brain dead, mute, or both.

"They just embraced him, and that's the amazing thing about children," she said. "They don't ask questions. They've never once said, 'What is he doing here,' or mentioned the difference in his skin color, or questioned his presence in our life. That is an amazing lesson that children do teach us."--Madonna

Ah, poor word choice is all. Perhaps she meant, "They don't make judgments" which is of course the result of not asking questions, because Mommy holds all the answers don't you know. I think she's also contrasting the acceptance and openess of children with the scrutiny of the media, saying essentially, "Be more like a child. Trust me, don't question me."

This is the "amazing lesson that children do teach us" : Unconditional Love means never asking questions because I love you, you love me, and that's all we need. And when you don't see things the way I do or challenge me with a question--it's time for a Time Out to rethink how you've cut yourself off from the deep wellspring of Unconditional Love that nourishes us root and branch. By your own negativity and egotism, you have placed yourself alone into very cold, isolated desert of the spirit, yet it is a false separation, for the warm lamp of my love awaits when you stop asking those pesky questions. Come into the light, my children.

 

[smartarse]

Africa isn't the only country where you have kids taking care of babies... all third world countries are a victim of such. Madonna needs to be more exposed and educated because it's looking more like she's riding Brangelina's coattails whether or not that's the case...

And as for her Malawi mess... she may or may not have a case of losing David. Malawi does not have adoption law and it looks like the government is making it up as they go along.

As for the Oprah interview I think it was weak and bias, if you ask me. Oprah didn't asked about the controversy nor was she asking the appropriate questions. Madonna was just talking one sided , on her behalf obviously.

I truly believe the father had no intentions of giving up his son to whomever wants to help. the pictures of the father holding baby David clearly shows he placed his son in the institution for appropriate care and housing and not for abandonment.

It may or may not be the case but Madonna looks like she's bought herself an accessory, indeed. Critics are right. Harsh as it sound, she saw, she wants she conquered. Made a beeline to the most beautiful and desirable accessory on the shelf-(it is obvious David is adorable and beautiful), Disregarding whether the child had living relatives or not and completely ignored the actual orphans who were there.

 

[misssakura]

Ugh. This makes me angry. Whoever says he is adopting him as an accessory is a petty small minded individual. I'm sorry but it makes me feel sick.

 

[misssakura]

Btw in case people are wondering why it makes me so angry, i'm tired of being surrounded by negativity and cynics. I just wish that people wouldn't instantly think the worst about each other. Why build up all that resentment and hostility? It doesn't serve any purpose other than to breed ignorance and bitterness towards our fellow man. Sad

 

[mellowdrama]

^It's not the worst I could think about Madonna, really. I really think she herself is alright and her heart's in the right place regarding David and the adoption. It's just I think her actions are unethical, not particularly well-thought out, and are morally and socially wrong. I really feel no resentment or hostililty toward her--but her actions set a bad precedent.
I also believe her particular brand of spirituality is short-sighted, dangerous, and an offense to true Judaism, and that spreading this type of feel good mumbo-jumbo to some of the neediest people in the world who've been colonized and converted numerous time is insulting. But having been religiously colonized by Anglicans, Catholics, and Muslims three times over as it is, I'm sure the Malawians will know well enough how to dance the Kabbalah Enlightenment NGO shuffle. You'd think they'd get fed up with it after awhile, though.

Different country, different time, but reminiscent, somehow: For a good time, read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.