By Sourit Sanyal
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah or Mo Farah needs no introduction. With four Olympic gold medals in long-distance running, the 39-year-old is the most successful British track athlete, becoming an inspiration for many immigrants. With six other gold medals in Wold titles, Mo Farah's contributions to the Great Britain Athletics Team saw him getting bestowed with the CBE (the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2013 with Queen Elizabeth II knighting him in 2017. But the story changed on July 12 when Mo Farah revealed his real name and identity.
In an exclusive documentary for BBC titled 'The Real Mo Farah', the athlete came out with his story and how it actually all began. Previously, the athlete claimed to be an eight-year-old from Somalia who joined his father and came to London, UK in search of a better life. Contradicting this story, Farah revealed, "Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it's not my name or it's not the reality. 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".
How It All Began
Mo Farah lost his father Abdi to stray gunfire in Somalia's civil violence when self-governed Somaliland declared independence in 1991. He was four years old. With violence around, an eight/nine-year-old Farah and his twin brother Hassan were sent to their uncle's place in neighbouring Djibouti for safety. This was where Farah came across a woman, who visited his uncle's place to observe a young Farah.
The lady promised Mo to take him to Europe and live with relatives. An "excited" kid who had "never been on a plane before", Farah was ordered by the woman to say his name was Mohamed. Stealing the name of another child and preparing fake documents for travel, the woman trafficked Mo Farah to the UK. In the documentary, Farah said, "I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah. As a kid, you never think beyond what you've been told".
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Life In The UK
After arriving in the UK, life turned around for the worse for young Farah, where his reality was way different from the promises that excited him. The woman took Farah to her flat in Hounslow, west London. Recalling those days, he said, "I had all the contact details for my relative and once we got to her house, the lady took it off me and right in front of me ripped them up and put it in the bin, and at that moment I knew I was in trouble".
Survival meant domestic work, childcare and being a servant if he wanted food in his mouth as Farah revealed. The woman blackmailed him, saying "If you ever want to see your family again, don't say anything". Farah shared his traumatic days of being alone and "locking himself in the bathroom often and crying". The shelter family did not allow Mo to attend school until he was 12 years old when he enrolled for Grade 7 at Feltham Community College. School staff were informed that Farah was a Somalian refugee. His foster family would not attend any parents' evening. This was where an "emotionally and culturally alienated" Farah met his PE teacher Alan Watkinson.
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Atkinson And British Citizenship
Alan saw a spark in young Mo the moment he hit the athletics track. According to him, "The only language Farah seemed to understand was the language of PE and sport". As days went by, Mo slowly opened up to his PE teacher about his real identity and the foster family he was forced to work for. Atkinson reported social services about Mo's foster family and aided the future star to change his foster family.
After joining another Somali family, Mo felt that "everything got better" after his relocation. He said, "I felt like a lot of stuff was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like me. That's when Mo came out - the real Mo". From here, the track athlete started making a name for himself. When he was 14 years old, Mo was invited for competing on behalf of English schools in Latvia. But he did not possess any travel documents. Later in 2000, Alan Watkinson helped Mo Farah to apply for British citizenship which was granted in July 2000.
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Revealing The Truth And Coming Out
Farah revealed in the documentary how his children motivated him to come out and speak about his truthful past. He said, "Family means everything to me and, you know, as a parent, you always teach your kids to be honest, but I feel like I've always had that private thing where I could never be me and tell what's really happened. 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.
The documentary also showed Farah's concern regarding his immigration status when he speaks to barrister Allan Briddock and how his nationality was "obtained by fraud or misrepresentations". But on July 11, the British Home Office confirmed that "No action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and to suggest otherwise is wrong".
While the lady who trafficked Mo Farah to the UK does not feature in the documentary, the star athlete is shown speaking to the real Mohamed Farah, whose identity was stolen for his entry to the UK. Farah also mentioned that he will continue with the name given to him upon arriving to the UK.
