The Real Mo Farah: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox television

* Atomized Studios

* Red Bull Studios}}

}}

'''''The Real Mo Farah''''' is a 2022 documentary about the childhood of [[Mo Farah]], a British athlete. In contrast to the story previously told by Farah, the documentary covers how Farah—born in [[Somaliland]] during the [[Somali Civil War]]—was illegally [[child trafficking|trafficked]] to the UK at the age of nine to be a [[domestic servant]]. After telling his P.E. teacher, he was brought under the care of a Somali friend's mother. The school obtained British citizenship through deception for him to compete in running events internationally. The documentary premiered on 13 July 2022 to universally positive critical reception.

 

==Background==

 

In previous accounts of his childhood, Farah said that he was born in [[Mogadishu]], Somalia, and came to the United Kingdom aged eight with his mother and two of his brothers to live with his father. The documentary presents his true past.<ref name="ES Secret Pain"/>

Mo Farah was born in [[Somaliland]] as Hussein Abdi Kahin. His parents never lived in the UK: his dad was killed when Farah was four years old in the [[Somali Civil War]]. He was illegally [[child trafficking|trafficked]] into the UK aged nine under the name of a child called Mo Farah, with a false visa, with the impression that he was going to live with relatives. At the airport in the UK, a man was waiting for his wife and son – the real Mo Farah – and the woman Farah was travelling with spoke to him. Farah lived with the woman as a [[domestic servant]]. She ripped up his record of family contact details in front of him. The woman had a husband who was rarely present and several children, who Farah cooked and cleaned for. He would often cry in the bathroom and learned to repress his emotions.

 

 

Farah's P.E. teacher Alan Watkinson, seeing his success in running events, encouraged him to join a running club. With another Somali student who spoke better English, Farah told the teacher about his home life situation. Social services spoke to Farah, who told them the truth. For the next seven years, he stayed with the mother of a Somali friend. Farah's running successes continued and he competed for England in Latvia at the age of 14. He lacked documentation to travel, so his teacher helped him get British citizenship. Speaking to barristers for the documentary, Farah is informed that his citizenship was obtained through misrepresentation, and so there is a small risk that the [[Home Office]] could remove it when he reveals it publicly.

The film was directed by Leo Burley and co-produced by Atomized Studios and Red Bull Studios.<ref name="Official">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001977f|title=The Real Mo Farah|publisher=[[BBC iPlayer]]|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="Variety"/> The project was [[greenlit]] within days and took 18 months, with filming and editing taking place within weeks of the release. Producers feared that key figures interviewed would withdraw consent, even after filming.<ref name="Variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/mo-farah-child-trafficking-documentary-bbc-1235315602/|title=Britain's Greatest Athlete Revealed He Was a Child Trafficking Victim. Here's How the BBC Got the Story|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|last=Yossman|first=K. J.|date=13 July 2022|accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref> The production team contacted the woman who brought Farah to the UK, but she did not wish to give information; Farah said he was not in contact with her and did not want to be.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/mo-farah-amol-rajan-bbc-home-office-bbc-radio-b1012014.html|title=Sir Mo Farah 'grateful to be able to embrace UK' after revelations about past|work=[[Evening Standard]]|last=Green|first=Alex|date=13 July 2022|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref>

 

 

Farah credited his wife and his school P.E. teacher Alan Watkinson with giving him the strength to make his history public.<ref name="Indy Home Office"/> Watkinson said that many of Farah's friends warned him of the risks of revealing his history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/sir-mo-farah-hide-truth-trafficking-exteacher-alan-watkinson-b1012367.html|title=Mo Farah had no option but to hide truth about his trafficking ordeal, says ex-teacher|work=[[Evening Standard]]|last=Dex|first=Robert|date=14 July 2022|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref> Farah said that he felt "sadness and trauma" over his childhood, where he learned to block emotions. He told his wife the truth about his childhood the year before their wedding. She said that "now that Mo has built up the courage to understand it better, I feel happy for Mo to be able to feel something".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/sir-mo-farah-wife-tania-nell-child-trafficking-secret-somalia-london-olympics-bbc-documentary-b1012035.html|title=Sir Mo Farah's wife: Living with hurt of child trafficking secret 'not natural'|work=[[Evening Standard]]|last=France|first=Anthony|date=13 July 2022|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref>

Farah is one of the most high-profile victims of [[modern slavery]] and child trafficking.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/boris-johnson-entertainment-somalia-mogadishu-gulf-of-aden-bd468023aa2eb15253120f7d23d9fb67|title=Mo Farah's story draws horror, understanding in Somalia|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|last=Faruk|first=Omar|date=16 July 2022|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref> [[Sunder Katwala]] of [[British Future]] said that his account could lead other trafficked people to seek help, and put pressure on the state to treat trafficked people as victims, not criminals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/boris-johnson-entertainment-sports-crime-africa-1da29660b1b2e5306d8a89821e46e466|title=Advocates: Farah's story can help other trafficking victims|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|last=Kirka|first=Danica|date=13 July 2022|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref> Figures from [[ECPAT International]] and [[Save the Children International]] said that victims of child trafficking struggle to discuss experiences as they fear they will not be believed and will be deported; recent legislation added time limits for victims to be eligible for support and transferred responsibilities from [[social work]]ers to [[Border Force]] officers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/jul/12/trafficking-victims-fear-being-criminalised-if-they-seek-help|title=Trafficking victims 'fear being criminalised' if they seek help|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Gentleman|first=Amelia|date=12 July 2022|accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref> Had Farah been a child under 2022 immigration laws, ''[[The Independent]]'' reported, he would not have been eligible for [[Rwanda asylum plan|deportation to Rwanda]], and would—had he been able to talk about traumatic trafficking experiences—have been eligible for leave to remain for 12 or 30 months. However, he may not have had access to legal advice.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/news-analysis/mo-farah-trafficked-law-uk-b2122199.html|title=Mo Farah: What would happen to a trafficked child in the UK today?|work=[[The Independent]]|last=Dearden|first=Lizzie|date=12 July 2022|accessdate=19 July 2022}}</ref>

 

 

==Critical reception==

Stuart Jeffries of ''The Guardian'' also gave it five stars, praising that the "beautifully made" film was "often heartbreaking", with particularly emotional scenes of Farah reuniting with his mother and with the Somali woman who raised him. Jeffries said it was "resonant" for human trafficking victims and those who criticise the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] government as "demonising illegal immigrants".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jul/13/the-real-mo-farah-review-a-beautiful-heartbreaking-story-that-exposes-cruel-tory-policy|title=The Real Mo Farah review – a beautiful, heartbreaking story that exposes cruel Tory policy|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Jeffries|first=Stuart|date=13 July 2022|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref>

 

 

Morgan Cormack of ''[[Stylist (magazine)|Stylist]]'' found it "a timely exploration of immigration and identity", noting that Farah's "simple admission of wanting to feel normal" at the start of the programme will be relatable to many immigrant children. Cormack said that the discussions over possible revocation of Farah's citizenship is "difficult viewing", and the "real tearjerker moment" is when Farah's mother explains she did not know he would be taken to England.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stylist.co.uk/entertainment/tv/the-real-mo-farah-bbc-one-documentary-important-moments/682059|title=BBC One's The Real Mo Farah: viewers react to the shocking documentary about the Olympian|work=[[Stylist (magazine)|Stylist]]|last=Cormack|first=Morgan|accessdate=18 July 2022}}</ref>

[[Category:2022 television films]]

[[Category:2022 documentary films]]

[[Category:2020s English-language films]]

[[Category:BBC television documentaries]]

[[Category:2022 in British television]]

[[Category:July 2022 events in the United Kingdom]]