The distance runner was flown to the UK from the east African nation aged eight or 9 by a lady he had by no means met, given the identify Mohammed Farah, after which made to take care of one other household’s youngsters, he tells a BBC TV documentary “The Real Mo Farah” to be aired Wednesday.
Britain’s Mo Farah speaks throughout a press convention following a photocall for the London marathon at Tower Bridge in central London on 24 April 2019. Picture: AFP
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Olympic great Mo Farah was illegally trafficked to Britain on the age of 9 from Djibouti and forced to work as a child servant, he has revealed, saying his actual identify is Hussein Abdi Kahin.
The distance runner was flown to the UK from the east African nation aged eight or 9 by a lady he had by no means met, given the identify Mohammed Farah, after which made to take care of one other household’s youngsters, he tells a BBC TV documentary “The Real Mo Farah” to be aired Wednesday.
Farah, who accomplished the 5,000m-10,000m double at each the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, has beforehand mentioned he got here to the UK as a refugee from Somalia along with his mother and father.
But in gorgeous revelations the 39-year-old now says his mother and father have by no means been to the UK — his father was killed in civil unrest in Somalia when Farah was 4 years outdated and his mom and two brothers dwell within the breakaway state of Somaliland, which isn’t internationally recognised.
“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” says Farah. “Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality.”
The lady who flew with him to the UK informed him he was being taken to dwell with kin and to say his identify was Mohamed as she had faux journey paperwork that confirmed his picture subsequent to the identify “Mohamed Farah”.
Farah, the primary British observe and discipline athlete to win 4 Olympic golds, mentioned his youngsters motivated him to inform the reality about his previous.
“I’ve been keeping it for so long, it’s been difficult because you don’t want to face it and often my kids ask questions, ‘Dad, how come this?’ And you’ve always got an answer for everything, but you haven’t got an answer for that,” he mentioned.
“That’s the main reason in telling my story because I want to feel normal and don’t feel like you’re holding on to something.”
GET OUT AND RUN
Farah’s spouse Tania mentioned within the yr main up to their 2010 wedding ceremony she realised “there were lots of missing pieces to his story” however she ultimately “wore him down with the questioning” and he informed the reality.
When he arrived within the UK, Farah says the lady who accompanied him took a bit of paper from him that had his kin’ contact particulars and “ripped it up and put it in the bin.
“At that second, I knew I was in bother,” he says.
Farah says he was forced to do housework and childcare “if I needed meals in my mouth”, and was told: “If you ever need to see your loved ones once more, do not say something.”
“Often I’d simply lock myself within the rest room and cry,” he says.
Farah’s physical education teacher, Alan Watkinson, noticed how the youngster’s mood changed when he was on the running track.
“The solely language he appeared to perceive was the language of PE and sport,” says Watkinson.
Farah says it was athletics that enabled him to escape.
“The solely factor I may do to get away from this (state of affairs) was to get out and run,” he says.
Farah eventually told Watkinson the truth and he informed local authorities.
It was Watkinson who applied for Farah’s British citizenship which he described as a “lengthy course of” and on July 25, 2000 Farah was recognised as a British Citizen.
“I typically take into consideration the opposite Mohamed Farah, the boy whose place I took on that airplane and I actually hope he is OK,” said Farah.
Farah was praised on Wednesday for telling his story.
“We applaud @Mo_Farah for his bravery in telling his heartbreaking story,” tweeted Britain’s Refugee Council charity.
“He underlines the human actuality on the coronary heart of so many tales like his,” it added. “And the determined want for protected and humane routes for folks searching for asylum.”