Mo Farah isn’t who he says he is

[SnottyLottie]

news.sky.com/story/sir-mo-farah-reveals-the-truth-about-how-he-came-to-the-uk-12650126

My mind is actual blown after reading that. Poor man to have to go through such an ordeal. I wonder what ever happened to the real Mohammad Farah? ☹️

Hope this doesn’t effect his citizenship or anything.

The documentary made me cry.

Some of the comments on here + lots more on TikTok sharing similar stories, minimising it, reframing it differently etc. also made me think a lot.

There's a lot of threads on childhood experiences that had led to trauma/ huge effects on person's day to day life, experiences that in comparison to this one are fading.

I'm not sure what I'm getting at...
Just made me think how we can only view things from the prism of our culture; and when two cultures collide, of course you are double-confused, and yes... you may need double the time to make sense of things for yourself.

@Gilmorehill I was thinking when he was interviewed after his win when he was a teen. I think he was close to tears - he was in disbelief and came across as he did throughout.

I never knew anything about his wife, but I watched the documentary thinking what a lucky man to have such a supportive wife and a beautiful family. There was a scene where hugged his son in the car in Somalia, and I just felt the love and protection he has for them. I’m stuck in a terrible situation with my ex and his bad behaviour towards our child. It felt alien seeing that warmth. But, I felt what a miraculous life Mo lead.

I’m not sure what you mean either. Sorry.

I have thought of nothing else for the last few days. DS2 is 8 and i have been holding him close and constantly telling him I love him 😢

Sadly I think the original MF was the other child at school and has died. The guy in WhatsApp looked far too young. Kinsi definitely has more to say I think. But bless her for taking him in and showing him love.

I felt it was implied that Alan Watkinson and the school may have questions to answer. I hope not, they saved the little boy, but i fear they may be questioned for false representation (it was intimated my the lawyers)

I always felt Sir Mo had a sad look in his eyes. He must have gone through so much trauma. I hope he can start to find peace now he has spoken

His loving family unit with Tania and the children was so heartwarming ❤️

Very odd and disturbing story - so much more to come to light, I suspect. Can't help wondering why the matter has come to light now, after all this time.

Why did Mo lose contact with Kinsi? Who is the "real" Mo Farah? (I thought the online meeting with the alleged "Mo" was definitely staged and calculated to appease Mo's concerns about the wellbeing of "Mo". I'm guessing Kinsi knows far more than she's letting on.

How much did Mo's family know about his success? Was his mother complicit in his trafficking?

How many other trafficked children are out there, I wonder? I hope at the very least that Mo's story gives them hope.

@JellyBellyNelly Thanks for reading. I'll have another go.

I understand why it would take him so long to come forward with this. It's so confusing especially if you belong to two different cultures, where some things are viewed differently.

It's all very easy for us, first world people, to sit in front of the tv shouting this is trafficking, it's outrageous but the fact is this is happening. People are doing this. They wouldn't if they thought of it as a crime.
They are viewing it as one/ only way to give opportunities to their young. They (incl mothers) trade their child's labour, they break up their families, hoping the child will make it in Europe.

Is it right- no! Are they bad people?
I have never felt that desperation and I'll never know.

Obvs not specific to MF and his circumstances but what he's brought to light is that these things are common. And it's so sad.

Sorry if this has been said already, but although a different situation, it made me think of Ian Wright, for whom a PE teacher also changed his life.

It's all a murky mess.

There is a question of why when Sir Mo said he wasn't Mo Farah to school and SW they didn't contact immigration then.

But remember is pushing 25 years ago. People weren't as aware of trafficking. School / SW recognised this was a child who was having a hellish time and needed support.

Would immigration have been able to act swiftly or was there as risk that Mo would have come to serious harm if they'd faffed.

Kinsi would have been classed as a "kinship carer" as on paper Sir Mo was her brothers son so she would have been able to take him fairly quickly. Much quicker than finding a foster family who spoke Somile in the normal way.

So in terms of getting Mo a safe place to stay it was probably easier to ignore the papers were false and he had a false ID.
And how do you even prove his real ID?

It has crossed my mind too that the real Mo could be dead.

Yeah I must admit, I didn't buy the Mo Farrah on WhatsApp being the real Mo.

I don't know Ian Wright's story but it did remind me of Fatima Whitbred.

Fatima was in a care home when she met Ms Whitbred who was running an athletics club. Fatima launched a javelin through a window or something and got a weeks ban almost instantly. Ms Whitbred ended up her Foster mum I can't remember if she was fully adopted but she took the Whitbred name.

Yes you're right.
So many children in terrible situations won't meet that special person who sees their potential and allows them to thrive.

Ian Wright also did a documentary which was very moving. He suffered an abusive childhood too and a PE teacher gave him a route out of that.

So having read a few newspapers and interviews with the children that he had to look after it appears that;

*The women who brought Mo over was the mum of the two children

*The real Mo was her step child and the child of her husband from his first marriage

*The children are saying that the visa was for 3 children and the real Mo couldn't make it and that their mum was coerced into bringing Mo as she thought she needed 3 children to come through

*One of the children he looked after has already been deported because of crime 😳

I think this is going to get pretty murky.

I was watching a documentary on Mo (Prime) which dates back to somewhere after the Rio Olympics and before the Salazar business. In it, he meets his brother Hassan in Djibouti and visits the place where they both lived. He jokes about school, and seems to be something of a celebrity (unless the locals were rounded up for the cameras - who knows.).

The two of them talk about Mo being taken to the UK and Hassan being left behind. There's no mention of the mother or any family members.

Although it's probably not particularly relevant I can't help wondering how much, if anything, the mother knew about Mo's success and how (relatively) wealthy he became. Did Hassan and the mother remain in touch? What's Hassan doing now? (I got the impression that the visit Mo made to meet his mother in the BBC documentary was the first time they'd met since he a'd Hassan were sent away).

I also read somewhere that the "real" Mo was left behind in Africa.

I feel so sorry for poor Mo in all this and I can't help wondering how this has come to light after all this time.

He normally appears to have such a happy upbeat persona; there was not much evidence of that in the documentary was there? He looked as though he was bricking it..

Fascinating story. Hope Mo gets the answers he needs.

The children are saying that the visa was for 3 children and the real Mo couldn't make it and that their mum was coerced into bringing Mo as she thought she needed 3 children to come through.

Even that doesn't make much sense.
Why couldn't the real Mo make it and why was Sir Mos photo used on the visa?

I do think Mo was bricking it because he could be deported for being here under false ID. And possibly also knowing lots of bits of the story don't make sense probably because he himself doesn't know the whole straight story.

I do think Mo was bricking it because he could be deported for being here under false ID.

Quite. My thoughts too. He loses everything - his knighthood, his cbe, his acclaim, his achievements. He's got hell of a lot to lose. So why bring it up? It's been an open secret for yonks amongst certain people. He's 40 and nearing the end of his athletics career.

My heart tells me he simply wants to make peace with his past; my head says he had no choice.

It's been an open secret for yonks amongst certain people

Who would that be apart from the people in the documentary?

I think it's a mix of both fed up living a lie, and wanting to get to the bottom what actually happened to him.

I think he might also be trying to highlight what some situations some children end up in that come to the UK.

I'm guessing that people coaches, athletes etc may have questioned his background - ie where's your family?

So he may have told more people, others may have heard a rumour but end of the day all his papers are Mo Farah, visa, citizenship, NI number, school reports, certificates etc everything is the Mo Farah identity. Nobody would have been able to prove anything different.