Madonna Adoption Try Tug Of War

(CBS)  It's now a waiting game for Madonna.

The pop star's appeal of a court ruling against her attempt to adopt four-year-old "Mercy" James, of Malawi, was heard Monday in the Supreme Court of the poor southern African nation.

Their decision could be announced come anytime in the next few days or weeks, says CBS News correspondent Priya David, who was in the courtroom as arguments were heard.

Most of the discussion, she says, revolved around a single point -- residency.

Malawi law indicates a person must be a resident of Malawi to adopt. Madonna's attorney, Alan Chinula, conceded that the singer isn't a resident, but argued that it was more important to consider the best interests of the child overall -- the same argument that swayed a judge in the case of David Banda, the son the pop star adopted from Malawi two years ago.

In an exclusive interview, Chinula told David that James Kambewa, who suddenly came forward claiming to be Mercy's father, is out of luck.

Kambewa, 24, who says he does odd jobs and makes about $20 a week, tried to stop the adoption.

He responded to reporters' questions about his motives by telling David, in English, "I do not want my baby to be taken, or even to be adopted with Madonna."

Through a translator, he added, "I never ran away from the pregnancy. Whatever they write, let them write. Let them write what they want to write, but what I know is I never ran away from my baby's pregnancy."

But asked by David if Kambewa's attempted intervention will work, Chinula responded, ""It is too late. We've closed. The case is closed. It is too late."

That, explains David, is because the court won't hear any new evidence.

James didn't show up in court, but advocates for orphans in Malawi did.

One of them, Ulemu Kammayani of Malawi's Human Rights Commission, told David it's in Mercy's best interests that she be adopted by Madonna.

Not all orphans' advocates in the courtroom saw trhings that way.

Malawi, David points out, has a million orphans.

Mercy's whereabouts are unknown. She'd been in an orphanage almost since birth.

As for Madonna -- she was in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute gala.

[paddyhayes]

Ah, Madonna!

The White Man's (or Woman's) Burden, and all that.

Make the world better and civilized for the not-so-white folk.

There is not the slightest hint of ethnocentrism in her actions.

<snicker>

[tibu987]

It would be nice if Maddona were to pay for a nice, large school in Malawi and pay the yearly cost as Oprah Winfrey did. Now that would be an unselfish motive and benefit thousands of Malawi's.

[tibu987]

It would be nice if Maddona were to pay for a nice, large school in Malawi and pay the yearly cost as Oprah Winfrey did. Now that would be an unselfish motive and benefit thousands of Malawi's.

[erasmus111]

...why does Madonna want to adopt this particular child who has family and is cared for, albeit not by a richbitch standard.
Posted by ayatoldya at 1:22 PM : May 5, 2009

What family is taking care of this child? Did you read the story?

[Ndukanachi]

My take on Madonna's Malawian adoption is probably different from the opinions of many. I am a 42 year old African-American woman who lived and worked in Malawi, Central African from September 2002 until September 2004. My husband is from Lilongwe, Malawi and we are the natural birth parents of a four year old daughter. Although Madonna means well, what she doesn't understand is that by adopting Malawian children, she is disrupting the social order of the land in a negative way. If you remember, after receiving media attention, little David Banda's father changed his story and said that he thought that Madonna would later return his son to him after he'd gotten older. His change of opinion was probably due to the fact that once Malawians discover that an individual has connections with someone from outside of the continent, it is assumed that the person is receiving some kind of financial assistance. In turn, this makes the Malawian a target for thieves and ridicule from other natives. In the third poorest country in Africa, Malawi, concentrated poverty breeds jealousy and crime, which runs rampid throughout the country. And when individuals suspect that another individual or family is somehow moving up the social ladder without sharing their profits with their relatives, they are despised. Then, by moving little David Banda, Madonna is stripping him of his culture, the language, Chichewa, the food, nsima and relish, and the spiritual beliefs of his people, whether Christian or Muslim. As a white woman, she will never be able to teach him these things because she is not a Malawian. She is a musungu, which is a term for "white" person. Surprisingly, even if your skin is black, you are considered a white person if you are from America or any other predominately white nation. Black children who are adopted by white parents have a hard enough time as it is and I've heard the stories of hundreds of Africans in America who are treated badly because of their hair texture, the color of the their skin, the speech, etc... Madonna can best help by providing orphanges with food and clothing and money for the salary of care givers. When I lived in Malawi, teachers made 50 per month. On this salary, they fed their families and paid their rent. Little David's plane ticket alone would have provided food, clothing, and shelter for an entire orphange for over a year. For example, the CIA Director at the Embassy told us to keep our laptops hidden because if stolen, they would sell for 1,000,USD which was a lifetime salary for the average Malawian. Maybe you still think my argument is senseless, but let me share this final story with you. My mother-in-law, who lives in a village outside of Lilongwe, is divorced from my father-in-law. Their 7 children, who are 30 and above live in the same village as their mother. The grandchildren often stay with her. I've visited the village several times and even spent my first Christmas in the country there. Months later, theives came into my mother-in-laws first house, where her 9 year old grandson was sleeping and demanded money for cigarettes. (My mother in law slept in a seperate house.) Because news travels like lightening by word of mouth, I'm sure they were aware of my American presence and assumed that because I was an American in-law, I was supplying the family with money.report on the adoptions often and are not in favor of it. Yes, we do need reform. We also need to make sure the white folks who don't give black folks the time of day in their own country, don't have the right to work out their feelings of guilt by adopting black children who they view as objects rather than equal human beings......Mechelle

[Ndukanachi]

My take on Madonna's Malawian adoption is probably different from the opinions of many. I am a 42 year old African-American woman who lived and worked in Malawi, Central African from September 2002 until September 2004. My husband is from Lilongwe, Malawi and we are the natural birth parents of a four year old daughter. Although Madonna means well, what she doesn't understand is that by adopting Malawian children, she is disrupting the social order of the land in a negative way. If you remember, after receiving media attention, little David Banda's father changed his story and said that he thought that Madonna would later return his son to him after he'd gotten older. His change of opinion was probably due to the fact that once Malawians discover that an individual has connections with someone from outside of the continent, it is assumed that the person is receiving some kind of financial assistance. In turn, this makes the Malawian a target for thieves and ridicule from other natives. In the third poorest country in Africa, Malawi, concentrated poverty breeds jealousy and crime, which runs rampid throughout the country. And when individuals suspect that another individual or family is somehow moving up the social ladder without sharing their profits with their relatives, they are despised. This concept is something many of us don't understand because we have taken on the European mentality of individualism. While we believe in making our own money for our own personal gain, nothing is off limits among Malawians. Malawians do not believe in individualism, but in total open community. There are no walls that seperate. It is believed that relatives have equal open access to all that you have and if you do not grant it, you are looked down upon as being selfish and high minded. In addition, there is a social hiearchy based on tribalism and education. As a foreigner, this way of life was quite strange, I guess because it was disappointing to see Malawians divide themselves according to social class. When Madonna adopted the first child, his natural father, was immediately moved from the lowest tier to the highest tier in the social hiearchy. This is against Malawian culture. For example, except for business purposes, villagers and servants, should not socialize with civil servants such as teachers and policemen. Civil servants do not socialize with university professors and NGO workers. In turn, these individuals do not socialize with governmental officials. When individuals create relationships with ousiders who provide them with financial support, they move from one social group to another instantly, which is unfair to Malawians because they believe a person should only move from one class to another based on education or hard work. Then, by moving little David Banda, Madonna is stripping him of his culture, the language, Chichewa, the food, nsima and relish, and the spiritual beliefs of his people, whether Christian or Muslim. As a white woman, she will never be able to teach him these things because she is not a Malawian. She is a musungu, which is a term for "white" person. Surprisingly, even if your skin is black, you are considered a white person if you are from America or any other predominately white nation. Black children who are adopted by white parents have a hard enough time as it is and I've heard the stories of hundreds of Africans in America who are treated badly because of their hair texture, the color of the their skin, the speech, etc... Madonna can best help by providing orphanges with food and clothing and money for the salary of care givers. When I lived in Malawi, teachers made 50 per month. On this salary, they fed their families and paid their rent. Little David's plane ticket alone would have provided food, clothing, and shelter for an entire orphange for over a year. The Nyasa Times, one of their major newspapers, can be read at nyasatimes.com. They report on the adoptions often and are not in favor of it. Yes, we do need reform. We also need to make sure the white folks who don't give black folks the time of day in their own country, don't have the right to work out their feelings of guilt by adopting black children who they view as objects rather than equal human beings......Mechelle

[ayatoldya]

And why, Why. from all the orphans in this one country, never mind the ones in the US England and Europe, why does Madonna want to adopt this particular child who has family and is cared for, albeit not by a richbitch standard.

[mellie1957]

I can't understand why these movie stars have to go outside the U.S. to adopt. And, I do think the kids probably spend a large majority of their time with nannies or other caretakers.

[erasmus111]

Oh look another star struck Madonna groupie, wonderfull
Posted by Zowwyy at 10:04 AM : May 5, 2009

I was right about your intelligence. You don't have any.

[Zowwyy]

Oh look another star struck Madonna groupie, wonderfull