The Disciple
New Yorker
from www.atu2.com:
Bono Praises Mother Madonna
Sydney Morning Herald, November 05, 2006
Christine Sams
ROCK superstar Bono has backed Madonna's controversial adoption of a needy African child, saying "I think it's really great".
The U2 singer, who is also perhaps the best-known anti-poverty campaigner in the world, has praised Madonna and her husband Guy Richie for the adoption of David Banda, a child from Malawi.
"I'm very happy that Madonna should offer succour and more than that to a young boy," Bono said. "He's got a great opportunity now."
Bono, who is in Australia for U2's Vertigo tour, revealed he and his wife were once offered an African child by a father desperate for his son to have a better life, but they were unable to take him home. Bono said the child, whose face haunts him to this day, is the reason he began campaigning for African poverty relief.
"One of the most profound moments I've had, one of the reasons I think I'm doing what I'm doing, was because in the 1980s I was working with my wife Ali in an orphanage in northern Ethiopia," he said.
"On the last day, a man came to me with me with his son and offered his son to me, by saying 'if you don't take my son, he will surely die. If you take him, you can give him a great life'.
"I could tell this man loved his son, he was a very noble-looking man, and it was ripping his heart to say this. And I didn't, I did not take that [boy].
"It was not the rules of engagement in the camp we were working in, we couldn't do that. It's strange, because I can't remember the boy's name, but I think about him all the time.
"Oddly enough, when people ask me 'why are you doing that' [the activism, the campaigning], his face comes back."
Bono said he and Ali had an emotional moment in their Dublin kitchen a few weeks ago, when prints from their first-ever African trip (which were being used for a new book) revealed a photo of the boy.
"I didn't know I even had a photograph of him," said Bono, who was openly emotional about the discovery of the picture.
"So I'm very happy that Madonna should offer succour and more than that to a young boy. He's got a great opportunity now.
"There's so many children in the world - there's really enough to go around."
Madonna has come under fire for taking the Malawi boy back to Britain. But the singer said she had been astounded by the criticism.
The support from Bono, who has an in-depth knowledge of African health and social issues, is a much-needed endorsement for the singer's actions.
Bono, who is due to perform at U2's opening Australian concert in Brisbane on Tuesday night, also revealed the band was planning a new album. "I think a U2 album will not be that far away, I hope," he said. "We've hit the vein, I think."
The band will release a collection of singles, which includes two new tracks, on November 18.
Like many Australians - and horse enthusiasts across the world - the Irishman will be watching the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.
"I don't think I can get to the Cup, because it's a show day, which is really, really annoying," said Bono, with a laugh.
"But I will be watching it - this is the best horse race in the world. I'll have the various horse whisperers on the phone from back home telling me how I can lose my money."
(c) Sydney Morning Herald, 2006.
Bono Praises Mother Madonna
Sydney Morning Herald, November 05, 2006
Christine Sams
ROCK superstar Bono has backed Madonna's controversial adoption of a needy African child, saying "I think it's really great".
The U2 singer, who is also perhaps the best-known anti-poverty campaigner in the world, has praised Madonna and her husband Guy Richie for the adoption of David Banda, a child from Malawi.
"I'm very happy that Madonna should offer succour and more than that to a young boy," Bono said. "He's got a great opportunity now."
Bono, who is in Australia for U2's Vertigo tour, revealed he and his wife were once offered an African child by a father desperate for his son to have a better life, but they were unable to take him home. Bono said the child, whose face haunts him to this day, is the reason he began campaigning for African poverty relief.
"One of the most profound moments I've had, one of the reasons I think I'm doing what I'm doing, was because in the 1980s I was working with my wife Ali in an orphanage in northern Ethiopia," he said.
"On the last day, a man came to me with me with his son and offered his son to me, by saying 'if you don't take my son, he will surely die. If you take him, you can give him a great life'.
"I could tell this man loved his son, he was a very noble-looking man, and it was ripping his heart to say this. And I didn't, I did not take that [boy].
"It was not the rules of engagement in the camp we were working in, we couldn't do that. It's strange, because I can't remember the boy's name, but I think about him all the time.
"Oddly enough, when people ask me 'why are you doing that' [the activism, the campaigning], his face comes back."
Bono said he and Ali had an emotional moment in their Dublin kitchen a few weeks ago, when prints from their first-ever African trip (which were being used for a new book) revealed a photo of the boy.
"I didn't know I even had a photograph of him," said Bono, who was openly emotional about the discovery of the picture.
"So I'm very happy that Madonna should offer succour and more than that to a young boy. He's got a great opportunity now.
"There's so many children in the world - there's really enough to go around."
Madonna has come under fire for taking the Malawi boy back to Britain. But the singer said she had been astounded by the criticism.
The support from Bono, who has an in-depth knowledge of African health and social issues, is a much-needed endorsement for the singer's actions.
Bono, who is due to perform at U2's opening Australian concert in Brisbane on Tuesday night, also revealed the band was planning a new album. "I think a U2 album will not be that far away, I hope," he said. "We've hit the vein, I think."
The band will release a collection of singles, which includes two new tracks, on November 18.
Like many Australians - and horse enthusiasts across the world - the Irishman will be watching the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday.
"I don't think I can get to the Cup, because it's a show day, which is really, really annoying," said Bono, with a laugh.
"But I will be watching it - this is the best horse race in the world. I'll have the various horse whisperers on the phone from back home telling me how I can lose my money."
(c) Sydney Morning Herald, 2006.
