Sir Mo Farah’s astonishing revelation about being trafficked to the UK has prompted a huge outpouring of support from the public.
The four-time Olympic champion has never spoken openly about how he really came to the UK before. In a new documentary, called The Real Mo Farah, he revealed that he was trafficked illegally under the name of another child and forced to work as a domestic servant.
In a moving clip released on Monday night, he said: “The truth is I’m not who you think I am.”
Sir Mo revealed that he was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, under the name Hussein Abdi Kahin and that “despite what’ve said I’ve said in the past” his parents never lived in the UK.
His father was killed in the civil war when Sir Mo was just four, and he was then separated from his mother and brought to Britain illegally.
The news from one of Britain’s most-celebrated sportsmen, the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic gold medals, has stunned people – and shone a light on the UK’s new, divisive migrant policies.
The government recently attempted to deport asylum seekers who have supposedly arrived into the UK through illegal means to Rwanda, but the European Court of Human Rights ended up halting the flight.
Sir Mo said it was his own four children who encouraged him to speak out.
A barrister in the documentary also warned Sir Mo that there is still a “real risk” his British nationality could be removed as it was obtained under misrepresentations.
However, the Home Office has since confirmed that no action will be taken against Sir Mo following his revelation, as a child is not complicit in gaining citizenship by deception.
And it seems everyone on Twitter is on his side, with many praising the athlete’s bravery.
Others hoped that his story would have a significant impact on the UK’s controversial migration policy as a whole.
The Real Mo Farah will air at 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One on 13 July.