After admitting to being trafficked into the UK as a child, Sir Mo Farah has become an “inspiration to many across the country,” according to No. 10.
The official spokesperson for the prime minister said that Sir Mo’s story served as a “terrible reminder” of the atrocities of human trafficking. Sir Mo told the BBC that at the age of nine, he was flown from Djibouti, given a false name, and made to care for the children of another family.
Sir Brendan Foster, a fellow Olympian, compared his tale to a “Hollywood movie.”
Downing Street stated that efforts to punish offenders must continue, and a wide range of individuals involved in British public life have expressed their approval.
Nadhim Zahawi, the chancellor, praised Sir Mo Farah and called ham “really motivating” and “a remarkable human.”
Mr. Zahawi said it was “difficult” to learn about Sir Mo’s early experiences because he had departed Iraq when he was just 11 years old.
“I congratulate Mo Farah. What a remarkable human being to have had that trauma as a child and to have recovered to become such a wonderful role model, “To the BBC, he spoke.
Sir Mo, a member of Team GB who won four Olympic gold medals, originally claimed to have fled Somalia with his parents and arrived in the UK as a refugee.
However, he admits that his parents have never visited the UK in a BBC program that will air on Wednesday. His mother and two brothers reside on the family farm in the breakaway state of Somaliland, where his father was shot and killed in Somalia.
Hussein Abdi Kahin is Sir Mo’s real name, he reveals to the programme.
When compelled to leave Iraq under Saddam Hussein’s rule, Mr. Zahawi claimed he felt “fortunate” to have his parents with him.
I knew Saddam Hussein was a dictator and nasty, so I didn’t understand why we were running away, he claimed.
Sir Mo’s disclosure, according to Sir Brendan Foster, “totally staggered” him.
According to Sir Brendan, “I believed I knew the Mo Farah tale and I thought I truly knew Mo Farah.”
A “Hollywood movie,” he said, adding that it was “an outstanding, successful story of someone overcoming difficulties.”
He referred to the Olympian’s ability to emerge from his traumatic upbringing with a “light-hearted disposition” and “steely drive” as “incredible.”
The choice to come out against trafficking, according to Lisa Nandy, shadow minister of state for levelling up, might be a “gamechanger.”
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, complimented Sir Mo for bringing attention to the crime of child trafficking and said, “We must create a future where these awful acts never occur again.”
Fear and deception, according to Dame Sara Thornton, a former anti-slavery commissioner, prevented many victims of trafficking and slavery from speaking out.
They may have been physically or psychologically threatened, she said, adding that they will have been informed that the authorities won’t assist them and that they are under the power of their traffickers and abusers.
The phrase “victims don’t realise they are victims of a crime” is used.
In a tweet that stated, “Whether he’s Sir Mo Farah or Hussein Abdi Kahin, he’s a hero,” comedian David Baddiel shared a photo of the two along with fellow comic Frank Skinner.
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