The revelation comes in a new documentary by the British broadcaster set to air on Wednesday. In it, Farah also says his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin and ...
The teacher contacted social services and Farah moved in with a Somali foster family. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 when it broke away from war-torn Somalia, but has never been recognized as a sovereign state. He says the family was "torn apart" after his father was killed in the civil war when he was just four years old.
Mo Farah has revealed in a BBC documentary that he was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child.
If you say anything, they will take you away’. In the documentary, a barrister tells Farah that, although he was trafficked into the country as a small child and he told the relevant authorities the truth, there is still a “real risk” his British nationality could be taken away as it was obtained by misrepresentations. 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.” The athlete travelled back to his childhood home in Hounslow recalling “not great memories” where he was not treated as part of the family. Farah’s wife Tania said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised “there was lots of missing pieces to his story” but she eventually “wore him down with the questioning” and he told the truth. “I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah.”
Farah, an accomplished distance runner, made the revelation in an upcoming documentary, saying it could put his citizenship at risk.
He was placed in the care of a friend’s mother. He successfully repeated as champion in both races four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, winning gold despite a dramatic fall halfway through the 10,000. In the documentary, Farah said he was separated from family after his father was killed during Somalia’s civil war. “And she said, ‘If you ever want to see your family again, don’t say anything. The lawyer, Alan Briddock, said that Farah was not likely to lose his citizenship because he was trafficked as a child and shared his story with the relevant authorities. He said he was putting his citizenship at risk by sharing his story, and spoke to a lawyer in the film about what the disclosure could mean for his future.
Sir Mo Farah is ready to tell his real story - 'whatever the cost'. The Olympic hero has bravely confessed he arrived in Britain as an illegal immigrant, ...
The pair got back in touch after she sent him her phone number when he was a teenager. But Kinsi says she was told Mo was an orphan. It turned out Kinsi was the sister of the man who met Mo at the airport – the real Mohamed Farah’s dad. Alan set about getting him British citizenship and shows Mo the box of documents he has kept since then. I came here as a child and it’s been hard.” Social services were involved and Mo got a lucky break – Kinsi, the mum of a Somali schoolfriend, agreed to take him in. “At that moment I knew I was in trouble," Mo says. He was unkempt, uncared for and we were worried." Aisha tells Mo: "We all thought we were dying. There was nothing here. That was quite shocking to hear." The astonishing details are revealed in a BBC documentary.
Farah was flown to the U.K. from Djibouti when he was nine years old by a woman he did not know and forced to care for another family's children, ...
He eventually confided his situation to a teacher, who contacted social services and helped get him placed with a Somali foster family. His real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin, the BBC reported. Olympic runner Mo Farah was trafficked to the United Kingdom as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant, he recently revealed to the BBC.
Sir Mo Farah served up some of the most indelible images of British sporting success, not least when he stormed to Olympic 10000 metres gold at London 2012 ...
Local News Yet it would prove only the start of his incredible story. “After the 10k my legs were a bit tired, and I don’t know how I recovered.
The four-time Olympic champion has revealed that he was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child.
If you say anything, they will take you away’. In the documentary, a barrister tells Farah that, although he was trafficked into the country as a small child and he told the relevant authorities the truth, there is still a “real risk” his British nationality could be taken away as it was obtained by misrepresentations. “So she told you don’t talk about anything otherwise I was in big trouble and I guess for me the only things that I could do, in my control, was to run away from this was get out and run.” 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.” Farah’s wife Tania said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised “there was lots of missing pieces to his story” but she eventually “wore him down with the questioning” and he told the truth. The four-time Olympic champion said “the truth is I’m not who you think I am”, adding he needs to tell his real story “whatever the cost” in the documentary titled The Real Mo Farah.
The four-time Olympic champion made the confession in a BBC documentary, adding: 'The real story is I was born in Somaliland as Hussein Abdi Kahin'
However Farah says that when he arrived in the UK he faced a very different reality. “When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were torn apart,” he said. “No action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and to suggest otherwise is wrong,” a spokesperson said. “Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality,” he says. Farah said he recalled a woman visiting the house several times to observe him. When he arrived in Britain Farah claimed he lived with a married couple who treated him badly.
The four-time gold medalist said he was born in Somaliland with the name Hussein Abdi Kahin and illegally brought to the United Kingdom.
Last week, he announced his plans to return to the London Marathon in October. He was granted British citizenship under the name Mohamed Farah in 2000. In previous interviews, Farah had said he came to the United Kingdom from Somalia with his parents as a refugee.
Sir Mo Farah served up some of the most indelible images of British sporting success, not least when he stormed to Olympic 10,000 metres gold at London 2012 to round off an historic 'Super Saturday'. Yet even his athletics heroics pale compared to the ...
Yet it would prove only the start of his incredible story. “I’m not leaving the Nike Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar because of the doping allegations,” Farah said at the time. “After the 10k my legs were a bit tired, and I don’t know how I recovered.
Mo Farah has revealed in a BBC documentary that he was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child.
If you say anything, they will take you away’. In the documentary, a barrister tells Farah that, although he was trafficked into the country as a small child and he told the relevant authorities the truth, there is still a "real risk" his British nationality could be taken away as it was obtained by misrepresentations. 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." The athlete travelled back to his childhood home in Hounslow recalling "not great memories" where he was not treated as part of the family. Farah’s wife Tania Nell said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised "there was lots of missing pieces to his story" but she eventually "wore him down with the questioning" and he told the truth. "I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah."
Sir Mo Farah has revealed that he was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child.
If you say anything, they will take you away'. In the documentary, a barrister tells Farah that, although he was trafficked into the country as a small child and he told the relevant authorities the truth, there is still a "real risk" his British nationality could be taken away as it was obtained by misrepresentations. 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." The athlete travelled back to his childhood home in Hounslow recalling "not great memories" where he was not treated as part of the family. Farah's wife Tania said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised "there was lots of missing pieces to his story" but she eventually "wore him down with the questioning" and he told the truth. "I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah."
The four-time Olympic champion said the film, titled The Real Mo Farah, enabled him to 'address and learn more' about his journey to Britain.
Following the announcement of the documentary, Sir Mo tweeted: “Through this documentary I have been able to address and learn more about what happened in my childhood and how I came to the UK. In the documentary, a barrister tells Sir Mo that although he was trafficked into the country as a small child and he told the relevant authorities the truth, there is still a “real risk” his British nationality could be taken away as it was obtained by misrepresentations. “So she told (me) ‘you don’t talk about anything’ otherwise I was in big trouble and I guess for me the only things that I could do, (that was) in my control was to run away from this was get out and run,” he said. If you say anything, they will take you away.’ 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.” Sir Mo’s wife Tania Farah said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised “there was lots of missing pieces to his story” but she eventually “wore him down with the questioning” and he told the truth.
The BBC has made a documentary on the four-time Olympic champion, titled The Real Mo Farah.
Child trafficking is the worst of crimes. This is incredible bravery. Following the announcement of the documentary, Farah tweeted: “Through this documentary I have been able to address and learn more about what happened in my childhood and how I came to the UK. If you say anything, they will take you away.’ In the documentary, a barrister tells Farah that although he was trafficked into the country as a small child and he told the relevant authorities the truth, there is still a “real risk” his British nationality could be taken away as it was obtained by misrepresentations. “So she told (me) ‘you don’t talk about anything’ otherwise I was in big trouble and I guess for me the only things that I could do, (that was) in my control was to run away from this was get out and run,” he said. “The important thing is for me to just be able to say ‘look, this is what’s happened’ and just being honest, really.” 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.” Speaking in the documentary, he said “the truth is I’m not who you think I am,” adding he needs to tell his real story “whatever the cost”. Farah’s wife Tania said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised “there was lots of missing pieces to his story” but she eventually “wore him down with the questioning” and he told the truth. “I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah.” Sir Mo Farah says he is “really proud” of a new BBC documentary in which he has revealed he was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child.
The Olympic star was warned speaking out could put his British citizenship at "real risk" - but it is understood the Home Office is taking no action against ...
Speaking on the phone, Sir Mo said: "I can't believe that I'm speaking to you. If you say anything, they will take you away.'" Sir Mo said he had "not great memories" of his childhood home in Hounslow, where he was told to work around the house if he wanted to eat. 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." During the documentary, Sir Mo said he thought he was going to Europe to live with relatives and recalled going through a UK passport check under the guise of Mohamed at the age of nine. Sir Mo Farah has revealed he was "trafficked" into the UK illegally under the name of another child, saying he wants to tell his real story "whatever the cost".
Farah, an accomplished distance runner, made the revelation in an upcoming documentary, saying it could put his citizenship at risk.
He was placed in the care of a friend’s mother. He successfully repeated as champion in both races four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, winning gold despite a dramatic fall halfway through the 10,000. In the documentary, Farah said he was separated from family after his father was killed during Somalia’s civil war. “And she said, ‘If you ever want to see your family again, don’t say anything. The lawyer, Alan Briddock, said that Farah was not likely to lose his citizenship because he was trafficked as a child and shared his story with the relevant authorities. He said he was putting his citizenship at risk by sharing his story, and spoke to a lawyer in the film about what the disclosure could mean for his future.
Olympic great Mo Farah was illegally trafficked to Britain at the age of nine from Djibouti and forced to work as a child servant, he has revealed, ...
“He underlines the human reality at the heart of so many stories like his,” it added. “The only thing I could do to get away from this (situation) was to get out and run,” he says. “The only language he seemed to understand was the language of PE and sport,” says Watkinson. Farah says he was forced to do housework and childcare “if I wanted food in my mouth”, and was told: “If you ever want to see your family again, don’t say anything.” The woman who flew with him to the UK told him he was being taken to live with relatives and to say his name was Mohamed as she had fake travel documents that showed his photo next to the name “Mohamed Farah”. When he arrived in the UK, Farah says the woman who accompanied him took a piece of paper from him that had his relatives’ contact details and “ripped it up and put it in the bin.
Olympian hailed as inspirational figure after revealing he was trafficked and forced into domestic servitude.
But he was still the cheeky chap. He knocked on the commentator’s door, and I opened the door and he said: ‘Don’t you want to interview me?’, and I said: ‘Well, you only finished 17th, and we don’t normally interview the guy who’s finished 17th.’” “I’ve known him for more than 20 years, since he was a young kid.
Scores of high-profile figures including politicians and celebrities praised Farah's “strength and bravery” following the shock revelations. Speaking in the ...
Following the announcement of the documentary, Farah tweeted: “Through this documentary I have been able to address and learn more about what happened in my childhood and how I came to the UK. If you say anything, they will take you away.’ “So she told (me) ‘you don’t talk about anything’ otherwise I was in big trouble and I guess for me the only things that I could do, (that was) in my control was to run away from this was get out and run,” he said. 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.” Farah’s wife Tania Farah said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realised “there was lots of missing pieces to his story” but she eventually “wore him down with the questioning” and he told the truth. Speaking in the documentary, he said “the truth is I’m not who you think I am,” adding he needs to tell his real story “whatever the cost”.
Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah has been inundated with support from the public after bravely discussing his harrowing childhood in which he was smuggled into ...
“When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were torn apart. Child trafficking is the worst of crimes. It is understood the Home Office will not be taking any action against Sir Mo and he will not be deprived of his citizenship. Following the shock announcement, Sir Mo said he is “really proud” of the documentary, which enabled him to “address and learn more” about his past and his journey to Britain. Meanwhile, Labour MP Yvette Cooper tweeted: “This is incredible bravery. The athlete’s decision to speak out was branded a “gamechanger” by Lisa Nandy, who added: "I spent a decade working with children who were trafficked to the UK and everything about this is heartbreaking.
The gold medallist has spoken publicly for first time about being brought to UK and forced to work as a child servant.
He was recognised as a UK citizen in 2000. “The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” Farah said in the BBC TV documentary. His only escape, he said, was athletics. He said he thought he was going to go to Europe to live with relatives, but when he arrived in the UK, the woman who accompanied him took a piece of paper from him that had his relatives’ contact details and “ripped it up and put it in the bin”. In the documentary – The Real Mo Farah – the star athlete instead revealed that his father had been killed in Somalia’s civil war and that he had been separated from his mother before coming to the UK. Instead, the 39-year-old said he had been given the name Hussein Abdi Kahin when he was born in Somaliland. He said he was trafficked to the UK by an unknown woman as a child, forced to assume the identity of an unknown boy to him named Mohamed Farah, and work as a servant.
"Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it's not my name — or, it's not the reality," Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah said, in a clip from an upcoming ...
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Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah says he was illegally brought to the U.K. as a young boy and forced to care for other children before he escaped a life ...
He decided to tell his story to publicize and challenge people’s perceptions of human trafficking, he said. The teacher contacted local officials, who arranged for a Somali family to take him in as a foster child. Farah says his fortunes changed when he was finally allowed to attend school. “I wasn’t treated as part of the family…,” Farah says in the documentary. The woman took him to an apartment in west London where he was forced to care for her children, Farah said. His mother and two brothers live on the family farm in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia that is not internationally recognized.
Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah said he was brought into Great Britain illegally from Djibouti under the name of another child.
He decided to tell his story to publicize and challenge people’s perceptions of human trafficking, he said. Farah says his fortunes changed when he was finally allowed to attend school. The teacher contacted local officials, who arranged for a Somali family to take him in as a foster child. The woman took him to an apartment in west London where he was forced to care for her children, Farah said. His mother and two brothers live on the family farm in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia that is not internationally recognized. “I wasn’t treated as part of the family…,” Farah says in the documentary.
The Olympian is widely praised for going public with his experiences of being trafficked into the UK.
He said it was "amazing" that the Olympian had emerged from his childhood experiences with a "light-hearted personality" and "steely determination". "I thought I knew the Mo Farah story and I thought I knew Mo Farah really well," Sir Brendan told the BBC. He described his story as a "Hollywood movie", adding that it was an "amazing, successful story of someone overcoming adversity." Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said he "salutes" Sir Mo Farah, describing the Olympic star as "truly inspirational" and an "amazing human". Fellow Olympian Sir Brendan Foster said his story was like a "Hollywood movie". Sir Mo Farah is an "inspiration to people across the country" after disclosing that he was trafficked into the UK as a child, No 10 has said.
Farah grew up at a time of deep poverty and instability in the Horn of Africa, where criminal networks smuggling resources and people flourished.
Neighbouring Djibouti was relatively peaceful and so a haven for many in the region. Some travelled in the hope of bettering their lives, find safety from conflict or to flee persecution. But the region was also chaotic, very poor and violent. By the mid 1980s, a full-scale rebellion was under way, which eventually ousted Barre in 1991. Involvement in cold war proxy wars and military defeat by Soviet-backed neighbour Ethiopia also weakened the regime. He has said that he lived for several years in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, when very young, though he was not born there.
Farah revealed in a documentary titled The Real Mo Farah that he was brought to Britain from Somalia illegally.
Similarly, London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted his support for the Olympian. Following the shock announcement, Farah said he is “really proud” of the documentary, which enabled him to “address and learn more” about his past and his journey to Britain. Figures from the world of politics have praised Farah as “truly inspirational” and a “great Briton” after he revealed he was trafficked into the UK as a child. It comes after the Metropolitan Police said it was “assessing” Farah’s allegations that he was trafficked into the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant. The four-time Olympic champion, 39, said there were a lot of people he “owed my life to” and that had given him the “strength” to talk about his past. Mo Farah says he is “relieved” the British Home Office has no plans to take action against him, after making the shock revelation that he was brought to the UK illegally as a child.
The Olympian shares the truth about his childhood for the first time. Plus: set in a shop selling trainers, new comedy Sneakerhead from Dave has legs.
With a vacuum-tight comedy script, he deadpans his way through new responsibilities while managing his motley crew of staff, played deftly by Big Zuu, Francesca Mills and Lucia Keskin. A storyline about sexting – taking saucy selfies in a changing room with a dirty nappy in the background – is enough to bring out some barks of laughter by itself. “Not many people are lucky enough to say they have the shortest commute in Peterborough and still get to live with their dad.” In this funny three-episode ode to the British high street, affable and earnest loser Russell ( People Just Do Nothing’s Hugo Chegwin) is made manager of the Sports Depot he has worked at for nine years. Farah – who reveals here his birth name was Hussein Abdi Kahin – had previously said that he came to the UK with his father as refugees when he was eight-years-old; the reality was that his father was killed in civil violence in Somalia. In this landmark documentary, the gold medalist tells his extraordinary story, with an aim to challenge public perceptions of trafficking and slavery.
The four-time Olympic champion, 39, told a BBC documentary he was born Hussein Abdi Kahin. "The truth is I'm not who you think I am," he said as he ...
He added: "This is my country. The Metropolitan Police has said it is "assessing" Sir Mo's allegations that he was trafficked into the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant. Sir Mo Farah is "relieved" the Home Office will not be taking any action against him after he revealed he was "trafficked" into the UK as a child.
Farah revealed in a BBC documentary titled The Real Mo Farah how he was brought to Britain from Somalia illegally, having assumed the name of another child, ...
Similarly, London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted his support for the Olympian. Figures from the world of politics have praised Farah as “truly inspirational” and a “great Briton” after he revealed he was trafficked into the UK as a child. It comes after the Metropolitan Police said it was “assessing” Farah’s allegations that he was trafficked into the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant.
Olympic great Mo Farah expressed relief Wednesday after receiving fulsome backing from the UK government despite his admission that he was illegally ...
So we went through the right channels, but I don't know why nothing was ever done," he said. I'm gonna lock it up," he said. I had no control when I was younger." "Alan did go to social services. proud to represent my country the way I did, because that's all I could do, in my control. A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "He is a sporting hero, he is an inspiration to people across the country.