- In a documentary titled "The Real Mo Farah" due to air on the BBC this week, Farah said he was flown to the United Kingdom from Djibouti at the age of nine by a woman he had never met, given a new name, and then was forced to look after another family's children.
- "The truth is, I'm not who you think I am," he said.
- "The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin.
- "Despite what I've said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.
- The Olympic star has told the BBC he was given the name Mohamed Farah by those who flew him over from Djibouti. His real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin.
- Farah was brought to the United Kingdom illegally by a woman he had never met when he was nine years old
The Olympian was forced to do housework and childcare and wasn't allowed to attend school for three years
Since becoming a British citizen, Farah has become the country's most successful male track distance runner
Read Also; Pulse: Facts Only
- He was flown over from the east African country aged nine by a woman he had never met, and then made to look after another family's children, he says.
- He said she told him he was going to stay with a relative in England before providing him with fake travel documents that showed his photo next to another person's name.
- When they arrived, Farah was taken to the woman's house in Hounslow, west London. His father, Abdi, was killed by stray gunfire when Sir Mo was four years old, in civil violence in Somalia. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 but is not internationally recognised.
- Sir Mo says he was about eight or nine years old when he was taken from home to stay with family in Djibouti. He was then flown over to the UK by a woman he had never met and wasn't related to.
- She told him he was being taken to Europe to live with relatives there - something he says he was "excited" about. "I'd never been on a plane before," he says.
- The woman told him to say his name was Mohamed. He says she had fake travel documents with her that showed his photo next to the name "Mohamed Farah”.
- When they arrived in the UK, the woman took him to her flat in Hounslow, west London, and took a piece of paper off him that had his relatives' contact details on.
- "Right in front of me, she ripped it up and put it in the bin. At that moment, I knew I was in trouble," he says.
- Sir Mo says he had to do housework and childcare "if I wanted food in my mouth". He says the woman told him: "If you ever want to see your family again, don't say anything."
- "Often I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry," he says.
- He was not allowed to attend school for the first few years of his life in England, but eventually enrolled at Feltham Community College when he was 12. It was there that he met Alan Watkinson, a physical education teacher, who fostered his athletic abilities.
- Farah eventually confided in Watkinson about his past, with the teacher contacting social services and helping him move to another Somalian foster family.
- "I still missed my real family but, from that moment, everything got better," Farah said.
- "I felt like a lot of stuff was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like me. That's when Mo came out — the real Mo."
- Source ; BBC
