Former Olympic champion Mo Farah revealed in an article published on Monday that he was brought to Britain illegally under the name of another child to work as a domestic servant. He was brought from Djibouti and forced to work as a child servant.
The Olympic legend whose father was killed in Somalia when he was four, said his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin. He was given the name Mohamed Farah by a woman who flew him to the U.K. from east African country Djibouti aged nine. Thereafter, he was made to look after another family’s children in Britain.
Farah won gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. He has previously said he came to the UK as a refugee from Somalia with his parents.
But in stunning revelations, the 39-year-old now said his parents have never been to the UK. His father was killed in civil unrest in Somalia when Farah was four years old.
Statements by Farah
“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” said Farah. “Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality.”
The woman who flew with him to the UK told him he was being taken to live with relatives. He was asked to say that his name was Mohamed as she had fake travel documents that showed his photo next to the name “Mohamed Farah”.
Farah said his children motivated him to tell the truth about his past.
“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 said.
“That’s the main reason for 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 wife Tania said in the year leading up to their 2010 wedding she realized “there were lots of missing pieces to his story” but she eventually “wore him down with the questioning” and he told the truth.