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.

I see the Daily Mail comments are predictable.

I bet they would be far worse if it wasn't Mo they were talking about

The home office have said they won't take any action thankfully.

I wonder if the Home Office will commit to not taking action against any other child trafficking victims who have suffered in similar circumstances.

Yes I hope so too.

People who leave comments on Daily Mail articles really need to consider their life choices. A sad bigot writing anonymously or the victim of child trafficking who becomes a national hero, yep I know whose side I am on.

What a weird way to title this thread.

”Mo Farah was a victim of child trafficking” would surely have been more appropriate.

Ah, but he isn’t white you see.

Indeed.
I wonder how he would be treated by the rule makers of this country if his story came out and he hadn't won multiple gold medals, he was just an ordinary bod instead.

I think that tne way he worded it himself .

I hope the (much hated by this government and it supporters) human rights act would have protected him.

This doesn't surprise me actually. The type of exploitation he experiences has been far more widespread than we like to admit. I am glad he experienced a happy ending by finding a teacher who rescued him, a new family to live with and eventually re-connecting with his mother, but no child should be ripped from their family like that. The traffickers who treated him as a slave should be prosecuted. It is the only way to deter people from continuing to do this. Norway also do DNA testing to check people are related in the way they say they are. Perhaps that is something to look into.

That was my first thought when I saw the thread title-

Truly horrifying. I have always admired him, but this adds a whole new layer of respect.

I've read the article and I'm still like what my god how can that be ! His "story" is so believable, he must have been so frightened.

The thing that stuck with me is his teacher who made such a huge difference to his life. I know this is an extreme example but thanks to all the teachers out there looking out for their pupils.

From the sky article - “Sir Mo said "the truth is I'm not who you think I am", as he spoke of the traumatic events of his childhood after leaving war-torn Somaliland in east Africa.” hence the wording OP used

This is why the Rwandan policy is so very wrong, in fact the whole of UK immigration we have.

With more safe routes, we have less traficking, less boats across the channel, Patel and other former immigrant ministers, they remove them.

At least no has said he should have stayed at the first safe country he was trafficked too.

Yes, see the power of a good teacher.

Are we assuming what he says is all true?
He seems like a nice man and has done a lot for sport and I wouldn’t want him to lose his citizenship or anything but his last backstory was a lie but this one isn’t?

You can't think of a reason why someone subjected to abuse and trauma as a young child and brought into the country illegally under a false name ...might lie, or need a cover story...?

There cannot be many london teachers that have not come across a child who they suspect is not the age they have been told or whose background is suspect. All teachers do their very best to protect and look out for looked after children. Those posters who appear to be defending the traffickers for bringing children to the UK illegally are so out of order. Most of those children are victims of modern slavery. it should never be defended. I really hope the woman who bought him as a family slave is prosecuted and also the woman who was responsible for buying him from his family in the first place.

I didn’t think I could admire and respect Sir Mo any more as a role model but turns out I can. I wish him all the very best and I hope his incredible bravery and lifelong trauma prompts this Tory government into action to stop children ever being abused in this way again in the UK.

As LeftButCameback said- a massive thank you to the teachers looking after the kids who desperately need help.

I read this story last night and am looking forward to watching the documentary. I hope the woman concerned is prosecuted.

Other than the obvious, what really stood out for me was the role of the PE teacher. Well done to Alan Watkinson. What a huge difference he has made to Mo Farah's life!

He's very brave to have spoken out and I hope it raises awareness. A friend taught in London in the 90s and said that there were just arrived Somali kids who basically had no English at all, some with clear PTSD, put in to secondary classes and just expected to "catch up". Thank Heavens for his teacher.

I sympathise. Haven't heard it called Somaliland since the map was all red!

This point is so important and so rarely mentioned in discussions of immigration and asylum seekers. There is effectively no way any more to ' legally ' enter the UK as an asylum seeker or refugee so anyone who bleats on about people having to enter the country ' legally' show their deep ignorance of how we deal with refugees ( Ukrainian ones excepted) .

All international customs and laws about how countries should treat refugees and asylum seekers have increasingly been ignored in this country at the same time as pushing the idea that we only refuse those who are here 'illegally'. It must feel like a Kafkaesque nightmare for desperate people