Can a ‘Sir’ ever be British enough? Sir Mo Farah reveals that he was trafficked to the UK as a child in BBC documentary

His name isn’t actually Mo Farah, it was merely a name given to him as he was coerced - admittedly initially excitedly, although who wouldn’t be flying for the first time - as a child onto a plane by a woman he did not know, on the proviso that he went by the name Mo Farah and not his birth name, Hussein Abdi Kahin.

Yes, Sir Mo Farah he of the multiple Olympic and Commonwealth medals did not enter the country legitimately and what should be a story that focuses on overcoming adversity to triumph in the greatest of fashions will no doubt be laser-focused on his British citizenship, or at least the legitimacy of it all.

“Most people know me as Mo Farah but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality”

Lauded as one of the all-time greats for his undeniable talent and prowess on the track (and road), remembered fondly for inspiring thousands (if not millions) to do the ‘Mo-Bot’, Sir Mo Farah as he is now known is not what people thought he was. Is that a bad thing or is it merely indicative of our collective and selective view that a child taken from a traumatic background, where his father perished and his mother remains, only to succeed in such brilliant fashion should still be denigrated for living a bit of a lie? Thankfully in the case of Sir Mo Farah, or should that be Hussein Abdi Kahin, it will not be an issue as the Home Office has already confirmed that no further action will be taken, “No action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and to suggest otherwise is wrong,” a spokesperson said.

“I was separated from my mother, and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah”

The revelatory truth is set to be revealed as part of a BBC documentary, The Real Mo Farah, broadcast on the BBC on Wednesday, where the 39-year-old shares that he was actually born in Somaliland - north of Somalia - before being trafficked to London by a stranger, under an assumed name, after escaping war in Somalia.

Having been sent to Djibouti with his twin brother Hassan by their mother, following the death of their father in the civil war, he was then brought to the UK using a name which had been taken from another child on a false passport. After he had arrived in the UK, the contact details he had for a family member were taken and destroyed, before he was put to work. Eventually, it was his PE teacher who eventually rescued Sir Mo and well, we all know what happened next.

“Through this documentary I have been able to address and learn more about what happened in my childhood and how I came to the UK”

It speaks volumes about the troubles, struggles and difficulties that those from nations in conflict or economic decay suffer, and goes some way to giving an insight into why people undertake such travails and life-threatening danger to seek out a better life elsewhere.

Explorers used to be lauded for the great extents they went to in order to discover new places, lands and the history books backs this up. It’s a wonderful thing, so long as it fits in with people’s idealised view of what ‘discovery’ or seeking a better life should be. For so long we have lived in a society where it’s almost fashionable to criticise those willing to overcome so much for a chance at something better, just look at the hostile environment policy which has made scapegoats out of migrants to divert from some pretty awful political agenda. Brexit merely emboldened this, a campaign of hate based on lies, manipulation and a means of turning citizens (whatever their background) against one another. And for what?

Some will shake their head and claim immigrants (a term that seems to be reserved solely for those not from the West or a nation of perceived affluence, who instead have the title ex-pat applied) are coming to the UK to ‘take our benefits and our jobs’ or something about ‘cultural division’.

Perhaps it’s time that we stop with the rhetoric, with the unsubstantiated hate. Maybe we should instead support, embrace, encourage, nurture and celebrate the differences of other cultures, races, nations and perhaps it won’t be long before we get another just like Sir Mo Farah?

The Real Mo Farah will be broadcast on BBC One, Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 9pm.