Sir Mo Farah has disclosed that he was brought to the UK illegally as a child and forced into domestic servitude. The Olympic champion told the BBC he was trafficked from Djibouti at age nine by a woman he had never met, who gave him the name Mohamed Farah. His birth name is Hussein Abdi Kahin.
In a documentary by the BBC and Red Bull Studios, Farah said his parents have never been to the UK; his mother and two brothers live in Somaliland. His father was killed when he was four. The woman who trafficked him took him to a flat in Hounslow, west London, and destroyed his relatives' contact details, telling him, 'If you ever want to see your family again, don't say anything.'
Farah was made to do housework and childcare, and was not allowed to attend school regularly until age 11, when he enrolled at Feltham Community College. His form tutor described him as 'unkempt and uncared for' and 'emotionally and culturally alienated.' His PE teacher, Alan Watkinson, noticed his talent for running and became a key figure in his life.
Farah confided in Watkinson about his true identity and situation. Watkinson contacted social services, and Farah was fostered by a Somali family. He later applied for British citizenship under the name Mohamed Farah, which was granted in 2000. A barrister noted that his nationality was technically obtained by fraud, but a Home Office official said no action would be taken as a child is not considered complicit.
