Tony Rock -- Chris Wanted African Girl to Have a Better Life

Chris Rock's brother Tony says Chris wanted the 7-year-old African girl -- at the center of an international controversy -- to become part of his family to give her a better life.

Tony was leaving LAX Friday when he told our photog he considers Ntombi a part of the family.

As we reported, the Rock family brought Ntombi to the U.S. in 2008, when she was just 6 months old. She lived with the family for 7 years, but Chris hasn't seen the child for a year, since he and estranged wife Malaak filed for divorce. Chris says he doesn't know how Malaak got Ntombi into the U.S.