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.

it wont just be him, but just him able to hold his head up and speak

Shocking story, very brave of him to speak out and hopefully help other vulnerable children in the same position. It sounds like his school and teachers should be commended, especially his PE teacher.

I saw him training once. I was sat on the top deck of a bus and noticed this guy running like the absolute clappers and looked closer and it was Mo Farah! He's in a different league!

His last backstory wasn't a lie he told, it was an identity imposed upon him by child traffickers fgs! The man is a victim, not a criminal!

I take it you’re also suspicious women who are trafficked for sex and think they’re not telling the truth?

Shocking that he went through that to come here. You have to wonder how many others were similarly treated by traffickers.

Goodness. I wonder how his twin brother coped with that too. Horrific

Yes, the man's clearly a pathological liar, let's deport him.

FFS 🙄

bit strange that all his brothers and his cousin (a professional footballer) also adopted the surname Farah which had been given to him by his trafficker.

This 'backstory' has been known by officials since he was rescued from domestic servitude as a teenager: "He eventually confided in Mr Watkinson about his true identity, his background, and the family he was being forced to work for. The PE teacher contacted social services and helped Sir Mo to be fostered by another Somali family."

It's just not been made public before now.

You're getting perilously close to "well, how can you ever believe anything a victim of trafficking says?"

It was clear.

I wouldn’t find it strange that family members were helping to keep another member of their family safe.

You've taken cynical to pathological levels.

Yes I am cynical but more in a mildly curious way than the man is a pathological liar let’s send him back to Somalia kind of way
However, as I also said whatever the truth is it sounds very difficult and I am glad he has a good life now.
No mention of deporting him or similar

Somaliland, not Somalia

@Hoppinggreen

Yes the film was made by the BBC in house docs team, they would have very thoroughly checked it out.

His previous story is best described as a cover story, rather than a lie - he told it to survive

🙄

Apologies to anyone on here from Somaliland who were offended by my error

It was one of those moments where o actually stopped dead and thought "wow". There's nothing else I could think as a reaction.

He's achieved so much anyway but I do wonder if he's sheet drive and determination have been a way of blocking out his past.

And I really hope they don't strip his citizenship. He was 10. A child of 10 can't illegally gain it it was done on his behalf.
And Britain were happy for him to be British at the top of his game.

I think he is incredibly brave to tell his story, there was no need for him to, he wasn't compelled to, it brings risk to him both for his citizenship and for the way people see him and the attention he will get going forwards.

I think it's completely unreasonable to expect that a 12 year old seeking help from a teacher and strangers in social services/foster care would feel comfortable with sharing the whole truth not knowing what would be done with that information and knowing how horrible some people had already been to him.

Once he was settled enough with them to maybe share all of that information he would have already been far enough through the citizenship process to be scared of something going wrong and jeopardising all of that.

He isn't a liar or dishonest he was an abused and trafficked child trying to get himself safe.

Might be my error, I am reading now, UN classes it part of Somalia.

I am sorry if it was me!

More importantly aren’t they going to anything about the woman who trafficked and enslaved him?

I don’t get it.

I'm so glad that Sir Mo has chosen to share his story. There is so much ignorance about the realities of trafficking and migration.

There is no real risk to Sir Mo regarding his citizenship. He is considered a national treasure and there isn't a chance in hell that the Home Office would actually strip him of his nationality. He knows this, I'm sure, but he is trying to make the point that others cannot be so secure. Others, trafficked to the UK as children and exploited as modern slaves, were just as much victims as he was, but they haven't won any Olympic medals, and so their situations are more precarious.

So glad that Sir Mo had an amazing teacher to confide in, and who helped him. The teacher must be so proud of all that he has gone on to achieve. I wonder how many kids never get that kind of help and support though.

I know he has a twin brother in Somalia and I've always thought that it must have been incredibly difficult and traumatic to be separated from them (and his parents) in any circumstances but this makes it so much worse.
It's astonishing how much he's achieved in spite of it

The home office have said they won't take any action thankfully. Good on Sir Mo for shining a light on trafficking and human slavery.

Horrendous what he has been through and such strength to speak up when he did and fight on since.

good on the teacher and others both for their work to help him when it spoke up and for not running to the media selling their story.

Sadly he is not the only victim of trafficking, and I hope that as a result of having told what happened to him, others will be able to tell at least someone else and it bring some inner peace to them.