Madonna To Reunite With Child Soon
Madonna's agent says the singer hopes to reunite in the coming days with the boy from Malawi she hopes to adopt.
Spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg won't say where or when Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, will reunite with the 1-year-old boy, David Banda. She does say that Madonna is doing her best "not to make it a public circus."
Rosenberg says the couple will have temporary custody of David for 18 months. The courts of Malawi will then evaluate them.
The 1-year-old boy left Malawi on Monday, flying on a chartered plane to South Africa and then on a regularly scheduled plane to London. He was accompanied by two Britons and two Americans, one of whom listed her occupation as nanny.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have asked Malawi's courts to review Madonna's request for adoption. They're concerned the country bent the rules because Madonna gave the country a lot of money.
The Malawian immigration official said Monday that though he saw only a U.S. visa in the child's passport. He understood from those traveling with David that they were headed to England, where Madonna has a home, via South Africa.
The U.S. Embassy would not comment, saying visa issues were private.
Human rights groups want Malawi's courts to review a ruling allowing Madonna to adopt the child from this impoverished, AIDS-stricken southern African country, saying they want to ensure child protection regulations were not swept aside to benefit a pop star who has been generous to the country.
The Malawi High Court granted preliminary custody to Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie on Thursday, even though the law requires would-be parents to live in the country for a year while social welfare officers investigate their ability to care for a child.
Justin Dzonzi, a lawyer for a coalition of human rights and child advocacy organizations, said his group had filed documents Monday asking a judge to review the adoption.
Boniface Mandere of Eye of the Child, a local child protection society involved in the challenge, told The Associated Press earlier Monday: "The court seems to have made a decision based on Madonna's wealth. But being a good parent is not about money, it is about caring, having heart. It's about love."
Madonna has donated $3 million to a local orphanage.
Mandere said his group was not necessarily opposed to the adoption, but wanted to ensure the law was followed.
"It is highly unusual for an adoption to proceed this rapidly," adoption attorney Paula Mackin said on The Early Show Monday, though Mackin added it's possible this adoption could have been in the works for a long time before it became public.
"It lends itself to a certain cynicism around adoption, which is very unfortunate, because adoption is a good thing. International adoption is a wonderful way to build a family. These children need permanent, loving homes. So, to the extent that it makes people believe that this process is influenced by money or other, outside factors, it is unfortunate.
"I just hope that instead what it does is provides an incentive for people to look to these children as possible subjects for adoption, and that it will support international adoption instead of undercut it."
Mackin added: "It's got to be very confusing, at best, for (other) parents who have waited (much longer). And indeed, parents who adopt internationally often have to wait a couple of years or more before that adoption is final. … It seems to them, no doubt, to be a shortcut that's been provided. We don't know that that's the case. But I can understand why it would be very difficult for these parents who have been waiting so long for their child."
David did not leave with Madonna and Ritchie on Friday because final legal arrangements were still being made, Madonna's spokeswoman said last week. Over the weekend, Malawian officials had said, members of Madonna's entourage stayed behind to care for the boy.
Madonna and Ritchie have a son, Rocco, 5, and the singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, 9.
Madonna's charity, Raising Malawi, is setting up an orphanage for up to 4,000 children.
Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries, devastated by AIDS and periodic drought. According to the National AIDS Commission, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has left close to a million orphans here. Because AIDS has killed so many young adults, many children are left in the care of grandparents or older siblings.