17 Emotional Reactions To Mo Farah's Heartbreaking TV Appearance
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.
Stunning news. The strength of Mo Farah to open up about this. I imagine it has been something hugely difficult to process and reconcile for a long time https://t.co/tXPBsrMj9m
— Julia Macfarlane ???????????????????????????????????? (@juliamacfarlane) July 11, 2022
Mo has long been a national hero. Now we know what he went through when he first got here I just have more respect than ever.
— Emma Burnell (@EmmaBurnell_) July 11, 2022
Never has a knighthood been better deserved.https://t.co/FECZR6Lw1k
I just read this tweet and felt genuinely stunned.
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) July 11, 2022
It makes Mo Farah’s athletic achievements and his joy at doing so all the more impressive and uplifting. https://t.co/GbTZHj3fd7
Whether he’s Sir Mo Farah or Hussein Abdi Kahin he’s a hero. pic.twitter.com/dMGiZBJaQI
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) July 11, 2022
This is an extraordinary story about a trafficked child who fought against all the odds to succeed and become a national hero. Amazing.
— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) July 11, 2022
We are proud to have you as a fellow Briton, Sir @Mo_Farah. https://t.co/c4Q2FGyxpB
Others hoped that his story would have a significant impact on the UK’s controversial migration policy as a whole.
We applaud @Mo_Farah for his bravery in telling his heartbreaking story - he underlines the human reality at the heart of so many stories like his - and the desperate need for safe and humane routes for people seeking asylum. https://t.co/RQswRDhflp
— Refugee Council ???? (@refugeecouncil) July 11, 2022
This is incredible bravery. Unimaginable what @Mo_Farah has been through. Child trafficking is the worst of crimes. His courage & strength in speaking out must be an urgent spur for much stronger action to help all those affected & to stop this terrible crime. https://t.co/0Gzw0QX9i3
— Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) July 11, 2022
It shouldn't take one of the greatest athletes whose ever raced for this country for people to humanise undocumented immigrants.
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) July 12, 2022
But may Mo Farah's courage in speaking out allow people to see past the hate pushed by the press and politicians. We need to change the policy.
I spent a decade working with children who were trafficked to the UK and everything about this is heartbreaking. But it could also be a gamechanger so thank you @Mo_Farah for having the courage to speak out. https://t.co/O90rJ4a30M
— Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) July 11, 2022
Mo Farah breaking his story given the current climate around migrants, is such an impactful way of leveraging his voice. So many people don’t realise how hostile U.K. immigration systems truly are.
— Amina (@yeahshewrites) July 11, 2022
I doubt I could be more proud of what Sir Mo Farah has achieved but then you hear he was trafficked as a child & forced to work
— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) July 11, 2022
He would, of course, be prosecuted under this Govt, but let them try https://t.co/gu4ceKWo7d
Sir Mo Farah would’ve been trafficked to Rwanda as young adult if caught by Priti Patel. Hypocrites who want to be rid of ‘illegal’ trafficked refugees now claim him as British because of his Olympic gold
— Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@SholaMos1) July 11, 2022
How many Farahs are deported to #Rwanda due to our racist/inhumane policy? pic.twitter.com/43qbR7CjI1
I can’t begin to imagine what Sir Mo Farah went through as a child which makes everything he has achieved all the more incredible.
— Holly Lynch MP (@HollyLynch5) July 12, 2022
It makes me think about every line of the changes to the modern slavery laws in the Nationality and Borders bill, and just despair. https://t.co/jSEfEstDep
If he was rubbish, he'd be an illegal immigrant stealing our jobs.
— Dr Dan Goyal (@danielgoyal) July 11, 2022
Because he's superb, he's an example of British excellence.
It's the same boy. Fleeing the same dangers.https://t.co/nYD6eaxSna
Sir Mo Farah is an inspiration.
— Stephen Kinnock (@SKinnock) July 12, 2022
Trafficked into Britain as a child and forced into years of domestic slavery - yet he goes onto be one of Britain's greatest sporting icons.
The Tories' new Nationality & Borders Act makes it harder for victims like Mo to escape slavery. https://t.co/asdD9qtp3g
Mo Farah is not alone. Many migrants who came as children from war zones had names changed, relationships misrepresented, by the adults in their lives. Some never dare untangle it.
— Simon Cox (@SimonFRCox) July 11, 2022
Undocumented immigrants and people traffickers. One of UKs greatest Olympians, Mo Farah would have been shipped to Rwanda if he arrived here in 2022. Luckily he didn't and he has become a national treasure https://t.co/W1DtOrADod
— Hannah Woolmer (@HannahWoolmer) July 12, 2022
The Real Mo Farah will air at 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One on 13 July.