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Madonna in Malawi in 2014 AP/Press Association Images

Madonna felt "compelled" to adopt twins from Malawi orphanage

Some activists have criticised her for allegedly bending the rules.

US POP SUPERSTAR Madonna felt “compelled” to adopt four-year-old twin girls from an orphanage in Malawi after hearing of their plight through her charity work, court papers revealed today.

Yesterday, the High Court in the Malawian capital Lilongwe granted the singer permission to adopt the twins, adding to two other children she has already adopted from the country.

Court documents detailed how the twins were taken in by the orphanage because their mother died soon after childbirth, their father left to marry another woman, and their grandmother struggled to look after several children.

Some Malawian activists have criticised Madonna for allegedly bending the rules and for exploiting one of the world’s poorest countries.

But judge Fiona Mwale said the singer would provide a loving family life for the children in “a luxurious, spacious and comfortable abode in an affluent neighbourhood” of the United States.

The ruling also said that Madonna, 58, was “above the age normally considered within the ranges of parenting” and had submitted a medical report to prove her good health.

“Her charity work brings her into contact with orphanages… and it was as a result of this contact that she felt compelled to fill a gap in their lives and open up her home to them,” Mwale said.

“The petitioner satisfied me that this adoption is motivated by her desire to offer a home, love, protection and guidance to the infants.

“She would like to share what she has with those who are less privileged.”

Adoption disputes

Malawi Madonna Madonna poses with children in Kasungu, Malawi, in 2014. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi

The ruling said the twins’ father, identified by the initials AM, gave his consent for the adoption and accepted it “permanently terminates” his parental rights — adding that he had not received any incentives.

Madonna’s earlier adoption of David Banda in 2006 and Mercy James in 2009 from Malawi have been plagued by accusations from some biological family members over lack of contact with the children.

The US singer, who was in court for the private ruling, has made no immediate comment and it is unclear if the family have left the country.

She set up a charity called Raising Malawi in 2006, and has been a regular visitor to the country, taking David and Mercy last year when she visited a children’s hospital surgical unit funded by the charity.

She has not always been welcomed with open arms.

In 2013, she was stripped of VIP status by former president Joyce Banda’s government, which accused her of being “uncouth” and wanting unending gratitude for her adoptions.

But in the 2014 election, Banda was ousted by Peter Mutharika who has moved to repair the relationship, saying “my government has always been grateful for the passion Madonna has for this country”.

The singer, who divorced film director Guy Ritchie in 2008, now has six children after the adoption of twins Esther and Stella.

‘Pool of poor children’?

Tackling the controversy over the requirement for adoptive parents to be resident in Malawi, the court said Madonna qualified because residency “is defined not by the length of stay in a country, but by establishing a presence”.

Maxwell Matewere, director of the Eye of the Child charity, told AFP that the singer should “take a different approach from adoption by supporting poor families with vulnerable children”.

“Most families would love to raise their own children in a local environment if given the support,” he said.

Ken Mhango, local head of the African network for protection and prevention of child abuse and neglect (ANPPCAN), criticised the secrecy and tight security around Madonna’s case.

Two weeks ago Madonna flatly denied being involved in any fresh adoption application in Malawi.

At her two appearances at court, she was escorted by security guards and police.

“Madonna is portraying Malawi as having a pool of poor children on the market for adoption,” Mhango added.

The twins, who have five other siblings, were reportedly from the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji, 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of Lilongwe.

Madonna was also ordered to comply with a home survey report within one year to check on the twins’ progress.

Read: Thousands march over Malawi’s plans to legalise homosexuality>

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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:21 PM

    They’re not going to make that journey anyway. Look at how Australia stopped the boats.

    196
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    Mute Nazerene
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:05 PM
    58
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    Mute Marlowemallow
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:16 PM

    @Awkward Seal: “Withdrawing support doesn’t work, he says.”

    What a careful question he was asked. You’ll notice he wasn’t asked whether or not towing the boats safely back to the coast of north Africa would ‘work’ – i.e. save lives equally well while also reducing the incentive for others to risk drowning. Or whether or not sinking the trafficker boats after safely returning the passengers, or offering a bounty for those who identify the traffickers, would work. Or any question other than the one to which he obviously gave the correct answer – which is why his opinion is being published of course.

    Fortunately members of our military don’t make policy anyway Although arguably they couldn’t do much worse on this issue than our politicians currently do.

    66
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    Mute Ben Moylan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:07 PM

    Why don’t the journal.ie bat out of the woods and give us a poll.. Should we send the Irish Defence Forces Into Libya and protect the coastline and exterminate the smugglers.. WE are great at talking the talk but useless at walking the walk..prevention is better than the Cure..

    166
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    Mute Joey Westland
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:08 PM

    @Ben Moylan: Are you suggesting the Irish Army invade Libya and carry out non-judicial murders?

    32
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    Mute Frederick Higginbottom
    Favourite Frederick Higginbottom
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:12 PM

    Of course they’re going to risk the journey if they know they’ll be “rescued” into a permanent cosy European life, at the expense of that country’s citizens through added pressure on housing, jobs, welfare, education, and so on.

    164
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    Mute Joey Westland
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:34 PM

    @Frederick Higginbottom: How selfish of them to want to have a better life like the one you have, the cheek!!

    18
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    Mute Maurice Bourke
    Favourite Maurice Bourke
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:03 PM

    @Joey Westland:
    Breaking rule 14 but if they want to they can follow the legal route to do things instead of going the illegal route.

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:35 PM

    @Joey Westland:

    That’s what visas are for. If you want a better life in Europe and have skills that we need, you’re more than welcome. We are not obliged to take in unskilled, poorly educated and socially backwards individuals who will only be a drain on our economy and cause social problems such as mass sexual assault and terrorism.

    73
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    Mute Peter Martin
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    Dec 28th 2016, 2:31 AM

    @Jason Culligan: Stupidity and ignorance cannot be legislated for but, there is a law on the statute books which make it an offence to incite hatred against others on racial and several other grounds. You and others might bear this fact in mind before indulging your racist proclivities on this site.

    4
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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Dec 28th 2016, 9:25 AM

    @Peter Martin:

    “You and others might bear this fact in mind before indulging your racist proclivities on this site.”

    Thanks for that utterly useless comment Peter.

    I’m well aware that inciting hatred based on racial grounds is illegal. You’ll note that I never once called for violence towards migrants or called for them to be returned to their port of departure because of their race. I simply pointed out (and Eurostat agrees by the way) that the majority of those coming in have a poor level of education and poor understanding of European languages and culture which will mean that they will struggle to adapt to our culture and attain gainful employment.

    Do try harder next time.

    15
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    Mute Pat Stapleton
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:13 PM

    Answer the Irish Navy better ,if they Ran These Supertankers from the Irish Sea,stop them sucking OUR Future Food source from Our Sea.

    153
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    Mute Bob Beaman
    Favourite Bob Beaman
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:18 PM

    Ok Pat, two things disturbing about your comment. One, you know those fishing vessels have a right to be there as our government sold our waters as part of the EU package?? And two, you are saying you would prefer to watch human beings drown so a part of our food source is protected??? Seriously?

    10
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    Mute Michael Shimaoka
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:25 PM

    @Pat Stapleton: So, you’d prefer it if people fleeing from active warzones drowned? Okay?

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    Mute Bryan Yelahw
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:25 PM

    @Pat Stapleton: Maybe, that was not the question though.

    36
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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:42 PM

    @Bob Beaman:

    “One, you know those fishing vessels have a right to be there as our government sold our waters as part of the EU package??”

    Those fishing vessels are also under quotas to prevent overfishing and the destruction of the environment. Our navy is primarily built around the task of patrolling our waters and enforcing quotas on these fishing vessels.

    “And two, you are saying you would prefer to watch human beings drown so a part of our food source is protected??? ”

    As harsh as it sounds, they are not our problem. There are plenty of Spanish, French, Italian and Greek navy vessels in the area that can conduct the task. Our paltry naval force is already overstretched patrolling our waters with all of their assets available. It’s not just about ‘protecting the fish’, it’s interception of dangerous narcotics which have a lasting and damaging effect on our society that is suffering as well.

    @Michael Shimaoka:

    By all means, pick them up. They should be delivered right back to source once they are. Providing them with the guarantee that a ship will pick them up 20 miles from shore and deliver them in safety to Europe only serves to encourage more migrants to take the risk.

    73
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    Mute Brian Ward
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:16 PM

    How about instead of spending millions helping out the smugglers and saving them money by ferrying people to Europe we educate the migrants as to how dangerous the journey is. If they knew how bad it was they themselves said that they wouldn’t go. All we are doing at the moment is encouraging people to make the journey and in the process spend probably their life savings in doing so. That’s if they don’t get shot, raped or drowned in the process.

    137
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    Mute Maurice Bourke
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:01 PM

    @Brian Ward:
    How dare you introduce common sense into this humanitarian issue. You must be a racist, misogynist, transphobic, kkk-supporting, Donald Trump voting, fake news spreading, heartless, ableist, capitalist, bigot. We must listen and respect these peoples views but you deserve to be silenced.

    106
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    Mute Michael Shimaoka
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:26 PM

    @Brian Ward: How about actually trying to fix the problem? Educating the migrants isn’t going to solve very much.

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    Mute Maurice Bourke
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:42 PM

    @Michael Shimaoka:
    Informing them about how dangerous it is, might be a start.

    ‘The documentary ends with a question put to one of the migrants: would you have gone on the boat if you had known how dangerous it would be?

    No, is the resolute reply.’

    60
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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:31 PM

    @Michael Shimaoka:

    “How about actually trying to fix the problem? Educating the migrants isn’t going to solve very much.”

    Why is Eritrea being an economic backwater suddenly our problem to fix Michael? Why is the fact that some people can’t get jobs in Pakistan all of a sudden relevant to us?

    73
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    Mute Beachmaster
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:27 PM

    https://twitter.com/BILD/status/813775197283061760 7 asylum seekers were arrested in Germany for attempting to set fire to a homeless person in Berlin. 6 of them were already known to police.

    124
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    Mute Mike Cantwell
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:55 PM

    Now Beachmaster they weren’t any old Asylum seekers they were Muslim Asylum seekers , oh the cultural enrichment that’s coming to us just imagine Pakistan , Libya , Algeria , Syria , Somalia just look what these places have to offer us , it will be like time travel but instead of going to the future it will be going back centuries , back to the Middle Ages

    103
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    Mute Maurice Bourke
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:41 PM

    @Beachmaster:
    Why bother with that just put up a link to the einzelfall map

    15
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    Mute Ben Moylan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:40 PM

    Amount of comments being deleted. the Journal.ie can’t handle the truth..

    107
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    Mute HOTBank
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:48 PM

    I guess the journal has lawyers who determine whether they might face legal action if they leave certain comments up which either defame individuals or are in breach of the criminal law. Perhaps, Ben, you should consider that and find a way to express your opinion in a proper way.

    2
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    Mute Marlowemallow
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:33 PM

    @HOTBank: They have a much more comprehensive policy on comment moderation than that. And their implementation of it is questionable.

    I say that as someone who’s been the ‘beneficiary’ of comments being deleted that engaged in speculation about my being a member of some far right party. I didn’t report those comments, because I support free speech within the limits of the criminal law and because you can’t slander an anonymous egg, but the journal clearly have a problem with such speculation.

    Since you clearly haven’t even read their comments policy your ‘advice’ to Ben is worth just about what he paid for it.

    55
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    Mute Martin
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:21 PM

    Yes we should welcome them with open arms just like Cologne did.

    91
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    Mute Awkward Seal
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:22 PM

    They’re not going to make the journey anyway. Look at how Australia stopped the boats.

    87
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    Mute Johnnie Sexton
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    Dec 27th 2016, 9:34 PM

    This should be tackled at the source rather than picking up at sea. There’s no point closing the stable door when the horse has bolted. The UN hasn’t been the much use preventing human tragedies, Rwanda and Bosnia for example when the un failed miserably to protect innocent people from being slaughtered. Not much has changed in relation to this.

    86
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    Mute Ben Moylan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:17 PM

    @Joey Westland.Where Was Skin And Colour Mentioned? Pale face..

    62
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    Mute Shawn O'Ceallaghan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:35 PM

    I think the anser is….. yes…

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    Mute Shawn O'Ceallaghan
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    Dec 27th 2016, 8:43 PM

    Answer

    4
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    Mute Mrs M
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    Dec 28th 2016, 9:58 AM

    Where are the women and children fleeing from warzones ? the majority of “asylum seekers” are young male economic migrants !

    15
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    Mute Dessie Deratta
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    Dec 28th 2016, 1:39 AM

    Libya is a mess created by Western foreign policy. Can I “sit back” and watch people drown?

    Of course – what else can I do?

    5
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    Mute Mateo85s
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    Dec 28th 2016, 4:21 PM

    Why all of them going to Europe? Who start war in their country?

    3
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    Mute Peter Martin
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    Dec 28th 2016, 2:21 AM

    Clearly, a majority of Irish are extreme racists. The hideous anti African venom being spouted on this site by fairly literate Irish makes me wonder about the precise origin of such hatred. I’m fairly sure that these commentators have never known any black people on a personal level. Not enough anyway for such clear hatred to develop. So, as far as these people are concerned it’s none of our business as to why thousands of refugees are risking their lives for years in order to cross the Mediterranean. Leave them drown is the consensus of opinion. It’s their problem, not ours. I’m sure few if any are unaware that the U S and Nato have been responsible for the continuous state of war waged by our neighbours on oil producing Middle Eastern countries causing loss of life and population displacement on a scale unprecedented since World War 2. So, it’s down to cheap fuel ! Rob their oil. Let them drown like rats. If anyone objects label them ‘terrorists’. What a f$$king country!!

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    Mute Jason Culligan
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    Dec 28th 2016, 9:33 AM

    @Peter Martin:

    “Clearly, a majority of Irish are extreme racists.”

    Considering the fact that you’re the only one making this about race, I must disagree.

    “The hideous anti African venom being spouted on this site by fairly literate Irish makes me wonder about the precise origin of such hatred.”

    Wanting a ‘return to port of departure’ policy is not anti-African venom. It’s a sensible and practical solution to the problem at hand which could save thousands of lives every year.

    “I’m fairly sure that these commentators have never known any black people on a personal level.”

    You complain about broad strokes and make a broad stroke assumption. You might want to look in the mirror before you judge others mate.

    “So, as far as these people are concerned it’s none of our business as to why thousands of refugees are risking their lives for years in order to cross the Mediterranean. Leave them drown is the consensus of opinion. It’s their problem, not ours.”

    You know, I’ve yet to find a map which places Ireland in the Mediterranean. In fact, we’re over 3,600km from Libya and even further from the countries which are the source of most of these migrants. We have no obligation to help.

    “I’m sure few if any are unaware that the U S and Nato have been responsible for the continuous state of war waged by our neighbours on oil producing Middle Eastern countries causing loss of life and population displacement on a scale unprecedented since World War 2.”

    You know, I wasn’t fully aware of the fact that the US and NATO have invaded and occupied Eritrea. What’s the latest news? How many dead and wounded?

    “So, it’s down to cheap fuel ! Rob their oil. Let them drown like rats. If anyone objects label them ‘terrorists’. What a f$$king country!!”

    The majority of those coming in are not from the Middle East, but don’t let that stop your ‘all of you are racists and only I am morally just’ rant.

    17
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    Mute Peter Martin
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:30 PM

    I don’t waste my time replying to racists.

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    Mute Mike Cantwell
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    Dec 28th 2016, 12:36 PM

    Try an be an adult Peter and respond to Jason !

    9
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    Mute Raymond Power
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    Feb 25th 2017, 3:57 PM

    You just got OWNED !!!

    1
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    Mute Dino Manning
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    Dec 27th 2016, 10:31 PM

    Give them the money we set aside for lone parents & children’s allowance.

    1
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