Mo Farah, the first British athlete to win four Olympic gold medals, says he moved to England as a child three decades ago under false pretenses.
The remarkable statement drastically illustrates the life story of one of Britain’s most famous athletes, Farah. In recent years, immigration has raised questions about his citizenship in a country where domestic violence is a major factor.
“Many people know me as Mo Farah, but not my name, or the truth,” he said. BBC documentary It was scheduled to be released on Wednesday.
“The real story is that I was born in Somaliland, northern Somalia, like Hussein Abdi Kahan. Although I have said before, my parents have never lived in England, ”Farah said in a documentary released on Monday.
Farah, 39, had earlier said that he had immigrated to Britain with his parents.
He said he was endangering my citizenship by sharing the story, but was quick to point out that the British government had little to fear. A spokesman for the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that no action would be taken against Farah and that “otherwise it would have been a mistake.”
Under government policy, children are not involved in fraud or fraudulent representation by their parents or guardians.
Allan Bridock, a lawyer who spoke to Farah in the documentary, said that Farah could not lose his citizenship when he was trafficked and that he had shared the story with the authorities.
In the documentary, Farah says he was separated from his family after his father was killed in the Somali civil war. He came to Britain at the age of 9 with another daughter, Mohammed Farah. He thought he was living with relatives, but he was forced into domestic servitude.
“I had all my relatives’ addresses and when we got to her house, the woman took them away from me and tore them in front of me and put them in the trash and I knew I had a problem then,” he said.
“If I wanted food in my mouth, my job was to take care of those children, bathe them, cook them, clean them,” Farah said. ‘If you want to see your family again, don’t say anything. If you say something, they will take it away. ‘
Years later, when he entered school, Farah told his gym teacher Alan Watkinson about his true identity. He sat in the care of a friend’s mother.
In July 2000, with the help of Watkinson, he was granted British citizenship under the name of Farah Mohamed Farah, the BBC reported. He will continue to be one of Britain’s greatest sports heroes.
Farah won two gold medals in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters at the 2012 London Olympics. Four years later, he won the Rio de Janeiro Olympics with a resounding victory in both competitions. A spectacular fall in half way Through 10,000.
Farah Appointed in 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II.
A.D. After a brief stint in 2017, he competed in the main marathon and set a national record in the 2018 Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 11 seconds.
Farah recently announced that he will run this year’s London Marathon on October 2, his first run after 2019.
Isabella Quway reports from London.