There's nothing like family bonding--and, believe us, this is
nothing like family bonding.
Just one day after being
granted temporary custody of a year-old motherless Malawian child,
Madonna and Guy Ritchie flew out of the southern African country Friday
sans new son. Their private plane departed for an undisclosed
destination just before 2 a.m.
The child, identified as
David Banda, has been left in the care of Madonna's entourage, according
to local officials.
Meanwhile, Madonna's publicist, Liz
Rosenberg, confirmed the adoption plans for the first time
Friday--contradicting her statement from a week ago shooting down
reports of Madonna's maternity plans.
"Madonna and her
husband Guy Ritchie have been granted custody of their son David,"
Rosenberg said. "Final legal arrangements are being made to bring him
home to his new family."
The babysitting detail was
necessitated by some red tape, but, echoing Rosenberg, Malawi officials,
who said they hope to reunite David with his new parental units as soon
as possible.
"The baby hasn't gone yet because immigration
is still trying to process his passport," a senior immigration official
told Reuters.
In general, Malawi law does not permit
international adoptions and requires would-be parents to spend between
12 and 18 months in the country being evaluated by Malawian child
welfare workers. Malawian officials waived the restrictions for the
Material Mom and her director husband, granting them an interim order to
adopt on Thursday.
Benston Kilembe, director of child
welfare services in the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community
Services, says the order allows the baby to travel with his new family
but does impose restrictions on his care.
"One of the
conditions, is that the boy will be monitored for any abuse of his
rights and if he is treated differently from the other children,"
Kilembe told Agence France Presse. "The monitoring will be done by the
government and if there is any abuse, the interim order might be revoked
and the permanent custody of the boy will be canceled and he will be
retrieved immediately.”
But the arrangement is drawing
complaints in the country and abroad, with critics carping that Madonna
received preferential treatment.
Eye of the Child, a
leading Malawian child rights group, says it is petitioning the
government to put the interim order on hold and, if that proves
unsuccessful, will seek an injunction to stop the adoption. Another
human rights group, the Civil Liberties Committee, is also backing the
move.
"It's not like selling property," Eye of the Child
said in a statement. "It is about safeguarding the future of a human
being who, because of age, cannot express an opinion."
"You cannot buy a child as if you are buying a house," the group's
Boniface Mandere told the Associated Press on Friday. "This process is
too short, applying on Tuesday, and [Thursday] the court gave the okay.
I don't think that the High Court has any information about how Madonna
is when it comes to child-rearing."
In Friday's edition,
the ever blunt New York Post ran the headline "Shameless Star
Buys African Souvenir."
One person who is positive about
the fast-tracked adoption is David's father, who sent his child to the
Home of Hope Orphan Care Center soon after his birth.
"They are a lovely couple," Yohane Banda told reporters Thursday after
meeting Madonna and Ritchie following the preliminary custody hearing.
"She asked me many questions. She and her husband seem happy with David.
I am happy for him. Madonna promised me that as the child grows she will
bring him back to visit.”
Banda's wife died just days
after delivering the child.
Prior to their Friday morning
departure, the 48-year-old singer and her family had been on an
orphanage-hopping tour of the African nation as part of the her Raising
Malawi project, designed to clothe, feed and shelter more than 4,000
AIDS orphans. She has pledged to donate about $3 million to the
campaign.
Once the adoption is formalized--a process that
could take up to two years but will likely be less--David will join
Lourdes, 9, and Rocco, 5, in the Ritchie clan.
In Theaters 
