Sir Mo Farah was illegally smuggled into the UK as a 9-year-old under another name, according to a new candid BBC documentary called The Real Mo Farah. The four-time Olympic champion revealed his name belongs to another child and he was brought into the UK illegally under it .
In the shocking programmem the famous runner publicly admits for the first time his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin and he entered this country under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah. He said he needs to tell the real story “whatever the cost” as “the truth is I’m not who you think I am”.
The father-of-four, 39, said: “Most people know me as Mo Farah but its 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. When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were torn apart. 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, who became the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic gold medals, said his children have motivated him to be truthful about his past, reports the Daily Star.
“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. 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.”
Sir Mo’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.
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.
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. Sir Mo eventually told his PE teacher Alan Watkinson the truth and moved to live with his friend’s mum, Kinsi, who “really took great care” of him and he ended up staying for seven years.
It was Mr Watkinson who applied for Sir Mo’s British citizenship, which he described as a “long process” and on July 25, 2000, Sir Mo was recognised as a British Citizen.
Sir Mo, who named his son Hussein after his real name, said: “I often think about the other Mohamed Farah, the boy whose place I took on that plane and I really hope he’s okay. Wherever he is, I carry his name and that could cause problems now for me and my family. The important thing is for me to just be able to look this is what’s happened and just being honest, really.”
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.
The documentary ends with Sir Mo speaking to the real Mohamed Farah whose identity he took entering the UK, before adding Sir Mo will continue to go by the name he was given when he entered the UK.
- The Real Mo Farah will air at 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One on July 13.
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