Olympic champion Mo Farah reveals he was trafficked to UK as a child
4 Min Read
In a new BBC documentary, the renowned athlete says that he was trafficked to London by a stranger using an assumed name after fleeing war in Somalia.
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Sir Mo Farah holds up a picture of himself as a child during the filming of the BBC documentary. (BBC)
British Olympic champion Mo Farah has revealed that as a nine-year-old, he was illegally trafficked into the UK under the name of another child and forced into domestic servitude.
The athlete had previously claimed that he left Somalia when he was eight years old to join his father after his parents made the agonizing decision to send three of their six children to London in search of a better life.
However, in a new BBC documentary, The Real Mo Farah, which will air on Wednesday, the 39-year-old said that he was trafficked to London by a stranger using an assumed name after fleeing war in Somalia.
“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality,” he said.
“The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.”
Farah claimed that when he arrived in Britain, he lived with a married couple who mistreated him. Alan Watkinson, his PE teacher at school, rescued him and assisted him in applying for British citizenship under his assumed name.
The athlete also admits in the documentary that the name Mohamed Farah was stolen from another child and used to create a fake passport.
“When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were torn apart,” he said.
“I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah,” he added.
Farah went on to say that for their own safety, his mother sent him and his twin, Hassan, to live with an uncle in neighboring Djibouti. Farah claimed that a woman visited his home several times to spy on him. He was informed that she was taking him to Europe to visit relatives.
On the other hand, Farah said that when he arrived in the UK, he was met with a very different reality. "I had all the contact information of my relative, and once we got to her house, the lady took it off me and ripped it right in front of me and threw it in the bin, and at that moment I knew I was in trouble," he explained.
‘My children inspired me to be honest’
Farah stated that his children have inspired him to be honest about his past. "Family means everything to me, and as a parent, you always teach your children to be honest, but I feel like I've always had that private thing where I couldn't be myself and tell what's really happened," he detailed.
“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”.
Farah admits in the documentary that he is concerned about his immigration status. The Home Office, however, confirmed on Monday night that he would face no consequences.
"There will be no action taken against Sir Mo, and to suggest otherwise is incorrect," a spokesperson said.
The documentary concludes with Farah speaking to the real Mohamed Farah, whose identity he assumed upon entering the UK, before stating that Farah will continue to go by the name he was given upon entering the UK.
