Mo Farah says he was trafficked to the U.K. and forced into child labor

Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah says he was trafficked to the U.K. under a false name and forced into child labor, revealing stunning details about the painful path that culminated in him being awarded a knighthood.

“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name — or, it’s not the reality,” Farah said in a new documentary about the track star.

“The real story is, I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin,” he added.

Farah has previously said he came to the U.K. as a young child with his parents, fleeing the war in Somalia. But he now says his father died when Farah was four years old, and that he was soon separated from his mother and other relatives.

“I was brought into the U.K. illegally under the name of another child, called Mohammed Farah,” he said. At the time, he was around 8 or 9 years old.

The documentary, made by the BBC and Red Bull Studios, includes footage of visa documents that Farah says were faked, bearing his photo and another child’s name.

“I know I’ve taken someone else’s place. And I do wonder, what is Mohammed doing now?” he said in the documentary, clips of which are posted on the BBC’s website.

The woman who brought Farah into the U.K. had told him he would soon join his relatives in the country. He carried a piece of paper with his family members’ contact information on it. But after arriving, the woman tore up the paper and threw it in the trash.

“The lady, what she did wasn’t right,” Farah said.

Farah described being exploited and threatened, as he worked in the household of another family. There, he was forced to cook and clean and tend to other children — and he was told to keep his mouth shut about his true origin, or the authorities would take him away.

“Often, I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry, and nobody’s there to help. So after a while, I just learned not to have that emotion,” he said.

The celebrated runner says his unique abilities and luck are all that saved him from trafficking and forced servitude. When he was finally allowed to attend school, his talents quickly drew the attention of a teacher who connected with him — and who then helped Farah get placed into a foster home with a different Somali family.

Farah, who received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth in 2017, says he’s speaking out now about what he went through to raise public awareness about other people who are caught in the same plight. The BBC says it attempted to contact the woman who brought Farah into the U.K. for her side of the story, but she hasn’t replied.

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BBC News, Washington

Rising floodwaters over the weekend breached the city’s main water treatment facility, bringing it to the brink of collapse. A state of emergency has been declared, and schools, restaurants and businesses have temporarily closed. Raw reservoir water is coming through the pipes, residents were told. Both the city and state are distributing bottled drinking water to residents as well as non-potable water via tanker truck. 

Jackson residents are also experiencing low water pressure and have been under a boil-water notice for the past month. “Do not drink the water,” Governor Tate Reeves warned at a Monday news conference. “In too many cases, it is raw water from the reservoir being pushed through the pipes.” Problems at the OB Curtis Water Plant began after heavy rains caused the Pearl River to crest and spill over onto city streets over the weekend.

City hall confirmed on Monday that river water had entered the facility, which treats more than 50 million US gallons (190 million liters) per day. “Adjustments to the water-treatment process are being made and have led to a temporary decrease in water production for some areas,” it said in a statement. “This will remain an issue for the next couple days as we work to refill the tanks.” Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the “very fragile” city-run facility would not turn off its water supply, but officials needed time to change how they treat the contaminated water.

Governor Reeves, who described the plant as long understaffed and poorly operated, said its main motors had gone out and backup pumps too have failed. “Until it is fixed, it means we do not have reliable running water at scale,” he said. “It means the city cannot produce enough water to fight fires, to reliably flush toilets, and to meet other critical needs.”

Officials have boosted production at a second treatment facility from 20 to 30 million US gallons per day, but water pressure has dropped system-wide. All public schools in Jackson shifted to virtual learning on Tuesday amid the crisis, while businesses and restaurants reported needing to purchase ice and water jugs. The southern state’s capital is more than 80% African American.

Experts say climate change is driving more extreme weather events like the rainfall in Jackson. The heavy rains this August have forced evacuations, inundated homes and washed away roads. “Quite honestly this has become commonplace. We’re experiencing more rain in our rainy season, hotter summers, and colder winters, and it has taken a toll on our infrastructure,” Mr. Lumumba said.