Adoption 'a Hollywood fad'
2006-10-13 08:07
London - British politicians and Malawi child care advocates on Thursday questioned the reported adoption of a motherless Malawi boy by Madonna, saying the move smacked of a celebrity fad and that the child would have been better off with relatives in the country.
The condemnations followed a statement on Wednesday by the boy's father that Madonna had adopted one-year-old David Banda, who had been cared for at the Home of Hope Orphan Care Centre near Zambia since his mother Marita died from childbirth complications last year.
The reported move followed other high profile adoptions by movie star Angelina Jolie, who adopted children from Cambodia and Ethiopia, and Meg Ryan, whose adopted child hails from China.
Officials for Madonna have refused to confirm or deny the reports, while Malawi government officials last week said Madonna planned an adoption but did not give the name of the child.
"This smacks of celebrity-itis and I think it's more about Madonna's needs than the child's," Scottish parliamentarian Karen Gillon said.
Psychological damage
"Family is important in Malawi and I think this child belongs with his relatives."
"This would appear to be the latest episode in the Hollywood fad for adopting children from developing countries," fellow Scottish MP Michael Matheson said.
"We shouldn't underestimate the psychological damage this could cause to the children in the orphanage when they know a superstar is coming to choose a child and they know they weren't picked."
The Malawi children's rights group Eye of the Child also voiced unease, saying in an open letter to the singer that it was concerned about whether foreign adoptions are in the best interests of children.
The organisation urged her to help fund existing programmes in Malawi to help vulnerable children and praised efforts by her charity, Raising Malawi, to set up an orphan care centre.
Malawi is the tenth poorest country in the world, with its population of some 14 million people ravaged by HIV/Aids, and an estimated 900 000 orphans. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA