James Caan: the only thing he is guilty of is caring

The predominantly negative response to James Caan’s ‘baby buying scandal’ has really baffled me. So he let his heart rule over his head for a few minutes, so what? He’s only human.

More importantly, he didn’t actually go through with it; he didn’t take the baby from its family. Compare his experience to that of Madonna or Angelina Jolie, and you’ll ask, ‘what’s all the unnecessary fuss been about?’

In the spare of the moment, Caan offered to buy a baby girl born in a tent in the aftermath of the Pakistan floods from her family. Anyone with a heart would empathise and understand his reaction – he saw a baby stuck in a dire situation and felt the need to do something to change this.

It’s a natural maternal/paternal instinct. What makes this situation different is that Caan realised the error in his judgement.

Unlike Madonna, he didn’t controversially adopt a four-year-old last year, or fight to do so. Unlike Angelina Jolie, he hasn’t adopted three children from third-world countries.

Yes, you could argue that he acted unethically in offering money for a child, but he changed his mind and didn’t follow through with his initial decision.

He decided that the baby belonged with its parents, in its home, in its village.

The only thing Caan is guilty of is caring, and wanting to better a life, and he shouldn’t be criticised for it.

If this media hype achieved anything, it diverted a little attention back to the victims of the Pakistan floods.

At the same time, the coverage also managed to detract attention from the great work that Caan is doing with his charity; which was supposed to be the main purpose of ITN following Caan on his recent trip to Pakistan and airing the footage.

The James Caan Foundation is currently working on a major project to rebuild a flood stricken village in Pakistan. They are going to fund the building of new homes, schools, and provide clean water, sanitation and aid facilities to the Jan Lunda village in the Charsadda district of Pakistan.

For more information about it, visit http://www.thejcf.co.uk.