This was a fascinating documentary about one of Britain’s most loved Olympians and the harsh reality he went through to become the man he is today.

Mo Farah was not born Mo Farah but had a previous name that was taken from him when he was sent to the UK with a family to care for their two children. Mo came over to this country to be somewhat of a slave to this family as he was only nine years old himself and wasn’t given the basic luxuries that most children his age would have had.

He was finally allowed to join secondary school which is where he found his love of sport, especially running. In his early years he didn’t know much English so found sports a great outlet for being part of the class where language wasn’t a barrier, and thankfully due to him being able to finally join a regular school and make friends, he was able to confide in his teachers who he really was and what was really happening to him.

However as Mo Farah’s journey into Olympic stardom began to pick up he worried what people would say about his past and the fact that he got his British citizenship through a method of fraud because his true story wasn’t brought to light. So throughout the many years that he was an Olympian and was constantly being talked about and interviewed he had to give this fabricated story that his life was brilliant and he got to come over to the UK with his family, when really it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Thankfully Mo Farah was able to go back to his home country and see his mum, his twin brother and other relatives again. I believe this is such a poignant part of the documentary because of the fact that when he was taken he didn’t know what was going to happen to him and so many people who have been in his situation could’ve ended up in much worse places where they may have never seen their family again. It shows how lucky he was that he was able to be reunited with his mum and not have that ripped away from him.

Seeing his story being brought to life was completely heartbreaking because you can’t imagine being a child and being forced to move to a country that you don’t know, with people you barely know, and knowing that you’re being used and not having the life a child deserves to have. Thankfully he was able to get out of that situation and become the man he is today, even getting to virtually meet the real Mo Farah, the guy who his name is from, but there are so many others who are in similar situations to himself that will never get that chance.

This is a very poignant documentary that shows the hardships of immigrants and how we should be more accepting of other people coming into our communities and our country. Everyone has a story, everyone has a reason as to why they are doing what they do, and for people like Mo Farah and others coming to England hoping for a better future, how horrific it must be to then be turned away and told that you had to go back to that one place that you were trying your hardest to escape from.

What do you think of Mo Farah’s story?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding