'The Real Mo Farah', British Olympian reveals real name, says he was trafficked as a child

Updated : Jul 14, 2022 10:14
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Editorji News Desk

4-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah, one of the most successful English track and field athletes has revealed that he was trafficked to the United Kingdom and forced to work as a domestic servant.

The long-distance runner in a BBC documentary called 'The Real mo Farah', which is yet to be aired, said that his name was changed from Hussein Abdi Kahin to Mo Farah when he was brought to the UK illegally by an unknown woman at the age of 9 from Djibouti. 

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The 39-year-old who became the first British Track and Field athlete to win 4 Olympic gold medals said he was forced to look after the woman's kids. Farah said that the woman did not allow him to go to school until the age of 12. He had earlier said that he had come to the UK with his parents as refugees.

Calling his childhood memories traumatic, the Olympian revealed that the woman also tore apart all his identity papers and papers that had contact details of his relatives. 'For years, I kept blocking it out, but you can only block it for so long', he added. 

He said things got better for him after he shared his ordeal with his physical education teacher who helped him find a Somalian foster family.  

Mo Farah has completed 5,000 and 10,000 mts at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. He will next take part in a London Marathon in October, this year, after a break of almost 3 years. 

Mo FarahBritainOlympicsChild Trafficking Case

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