Madonna has
been accused of 'betraying' the family of her adopted daughter Mercy -
as they issued a desperate plea to be allowed to see her.
The
grandparents of Mercy James have accused the star of cutting them out
of her life and failing to meet a promise to keep her close to her
roots. They also attacked 'white foreigners' for taking children away
from Africa.
Saxon
Maunde, grandfather of Mercy James who was adopted by Madonna in 2009,
told MailOnline: 'Nobody has told me a thing about Mercy being in the
country or about her welfare since she left us.
'She has my blood flowing in her veins. It is preposterous that I am not made aware of anything regarding her development.'
The
69-year-old, who ekes out a living selling pots from a roadside stall,
added that Madonna had, 'broken my heart and hearts of my family
members,' saying that, 'she has shown no humanity at all towards us.'
'Betrayal': The grandparents of Mercy
James, pictured in the straw hat with Madonna on her visit to Malawi
yesterday, have accused the star of reneging on a promise to let them
see her
Regrets: Saxon Maunde, Mercy James'
grandfather, told MailOnline he bitterly regrets agreeing to allow
Madonna to adopt his granddaughter
Thriving:
Mercy James, pictured yesterday on her visit to Malawi, was adopted in
2009 by Madonna after a High Court agreed that the star did not need to
be resident in Malawi for 18months prior to becoming a parent, but her
family are upset that they have not seen her since
Bitter: Mercy's 69-year-old
grandfather, who ekes out a living selling pots from a roadside stall,
told MailOnline that the first time he heard Mercy James was in the
country was via MailOnline and in newspaper reports
Saxon
Maunde originally backed Madonna's bid to adopt his granddaughter
because he believed she would get a good education, and convinced his
reluctant ex-wife to agree the adoption papers.
But
today, as Madonna visits Malawi with Mercy James, he said he bitterly
regrets his decision and accused Madonna of kidnapping a child of
Africa.
He said: 'White foreigners who decide to take our children away from Africa have no understanding of our culture.
'They
don't realise that in our African families each one has a
responsibility to the others. If a half-brother or half-sister does
well, they share their fortunes with all of the others.
'A
child like my granddaughter Mercy, if she succeeds in her career, she
is expected to share that success with all of us. That is how our
extended family system works.'
Because
of that system, he believed Mercy was being given the chance of a
lifetime to travel to America for her schooling and would then return to
help her family in Africa.
'I
worked for a household years ago where a foreign lady took one of the
children to be educated and brought up abroad, and that child came back
as a doctor and improved the lives of every member of the family. That
is what persuaded me to let Mercy go.
'Now I see
that all she meant was that she would bring her here on holiday, stay in
an expensive lodge for foreigners, and cut us – her real blood family –
out of her life. That cannot be the right way to do things. No
foreigner has the right to interfere in our culture like this.'
His thoughts were echoed by his ex-wife Lucy Chekechiwa, also 69, who fears she may never see her granddaughter again.
'I am now old and sickly,' she said. 'I don't want to die before seeing my daughter.'
Chekechiwa
and Maunde's teenage daughter died days after Mercy's birth and so the
family placed her at the orphanage because they could not take care of
her.
A
tearful Chekechiwa said: 'We planned to take her back when she reached
the age of six when she could eat solid food. But we were told a rich
lady wanted to adopt her. We resisted at first but government officials
convinced us this was good for Chifundo's future. We never thought we
will not see our daughter again.
Maunde
says he now bitterly regrets signing the papers that allowed the
56-year-old pop star to adopt Mercy, whose teenage mother Mwandida, died
days after giving birth.
'By putting a distance between Mercy and me and members of my family, she is being extremely unfair.
Madonna, pictured with children Mercy
James and David Banda yesterday, both nine, who she adopted from the
African nation, has already helped to fund 10 schools in the country and
her charitable efforts are not yet finished
Visiting Malawi:
Madonna brought Mercy James to Gumulira village, about 80 km (50 miles)
from the Malawian capital Lilongwe in April 2010 but Mercy did not see
her family then
'Please let us see our daughter':
Saxon Maunde, Mercy James' grandfather, pictured over the weekend, just
wants to see his granddaughter
Poverty:
The grandfather of Mercy James, Saxon Maunde, pictured this weekend,
ekes out a living selling pots but is not looking for any handout from
Madonna, he says he simply wants to see Mercy
Anger: David Banda, Madonna's first
adopted child, saw his father on a visit to the orphanage where he used
to live during the visit to Malawi last week
'We
are extremely poor, but we do not need her money,' he added. 'A simple
acknowledgement that we exist, that we are humans with feelings and that
we do not wish to be disconnected from our child will be enough.
'What
has happened to our family should be a lesson to anyone who may be
approached by Madonna with promises to make lives of children better.'
His
guilt is compounded because it was he who convinced his reluctant
family to let Mercy go. His now estranged wife, Lucy, fought to keep
Mercy as a court battle raged over her fate four years ago.
Lucy
said: 'I didn't want her to go but as a family we had to sit down and
reach an agreement and we agreed that Mercy should go.
'The men insisted that Mercy be adopted and I won't resist anymore. I still love Mercy. She is my dearest.'
Now
Maunde says he made a mistake when he facilitated Madonna's adoption of
Mercy some four years ago. He has never accepted money from Madonna and
is not looking for any - he says he simply wants to see his daughter.
'We
did not donate our child to Madonna. We let Madonna have our child
because we were told she is a philanthropist who would help give her a
good education.
'What is the point of us wanting Mercy to get a good education and a good life if in the end she does not help her relatives?'
With
her adopted children Mercy James and David Banda, also nine, the
Material girl has been visiting the east African nation to see the
efforts of her charity Raising Malawi, first hand.
Her
14-year-old son Rocco Ritchie also joined them on visits to schools and
hospitals in the country where she funds a number of orphanages,
including Home of Hope in the western border district of Mchinji where
she adopted David, and Kondanani Children's Home in the southern
tea-growing district of Thyolo.
On
Friday the pop legend met with Malawian President Peter Mutharika at
the country's State House and later announced her plans to build 300
schools across Malawi.
She
also found time for David to visit his father Yohande, who farms
tomatoes and maize in the central border district of Mchinji.
Looking to adopt again? Madonna,
centre, poses for a picture yesterday with children in Kasungu, about
150 kilometers north of the Malawian capital Lilongwe
Charity work: Madonna poses for a
picture with children in Kasungu yesterday, about 150 kilometers north
of the Malawian capital Lilongwe, where she has been working since 2006
with her non profit organization, Raising Malawi
Forgiven: Madonna had her 'VVIP'
status restored by Malawi after being called 'arrogant' by the country's
president in April last year. Yesterday she played with her daughter
Mercy as the girl's family issued a plea to see her
'You have grown so big,' Banda senior told his son as they bonded over a game of football.
Banda,
who has since remarried and has another son, brought his son some
gifts, including groundnuts and onions, in keeping with Malawian
custom.
But the news of this visit has only added to the heartbreak for Mercy's grandmother.
'Why
do they always take the other child (David) to his people and not
Chifundo to us,' Chekechiwa asked, using her Malawian name which
translates to Mercy. 'What's the difference? Is it because the other one
is a boy why my daughter is a girl?'
She added that she fought to keep Mercy as a court battle raged over her fate five years ago.
After
protracted legal wrangling Madonna was allowed to keep Mercy, who she
spotted during a visit to an orphanage with her then husband Guy Ritchie
in 2006.
Mercy's
uncle, Peter Baneti - who also signed off Mercy's adoption papers in
2009 - said he was not sure whether or not he regretted signing off the
papers.
He
said: 'I met Madonna in court and she assured me she would be bringing
back my niece every other two years. Was she lying to me? This was in
court.
'Government officials are my witness for they were translating our conversation.'
Baneti, a tobacco farmer, said he doesn't know how to explain the situation to the family.
He said: 'They are all looking to me for answers because I am the one who signed the papers. What should I be telling them?'
Baneti also said that Mercy has a lot of cousins who want to see her - but are confused by her new life of luxury.
He
said: 'We tell them they have a cousin who is living oversees with a
famous rich woman. They wonder why this famous rich woman should allow
them to live in abject poverty while their cousin is living big.
'This is not good for Mercy herself. What will she think when she discovers her people are wallowing in poverty?'
A representative for Madonna had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.
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