Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Sir Mo Farah & IBA
Every week we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT - SIR MO FARAH
Sport is a much needed escape from the pressures of modern life for billions of people. In many cases, it has saved lives and this will always be the case.
Increasingly, we are hearing stories of how elite sportsmen and women have been saved by their sport, and the lack of opportunities they would have had in life if it wasn’t for their talent.
The current influx of elite British track athletes is down to, in no small part, the inspiring athletes from the London 2012 Olympics, who achieved their goal of inspiring the next generation.
One of these athletes who has been a source of inspiration is Sir Mo Farah. To many, Farah is the greatest British athlete of his generation. His illustrious career includes achieving an unprecedented “quadruple double”, winning two Olympic golds and two World Championship gold medals twice over.
But Sir Mo was living with a secret he had been to afraid to go public with.
Now was the right time for Farah to tell his story of how he was trafficked to the UK, revealing a deeply traumatic wound to the masses.
In the clips released in the build up to the highly anticipated BBC documentary, The Real Mo Farah, he poignantly said: “Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name nor the reality.
“The real story is, I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia. As Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I said in the past, my parents have never lived in the UK.
“For years I just kept blocking it out, but you can only block it out for so long.
“When I was four my Dad was killed in the Civil War. You know, as a family we were torn apart. I was separated from my Mother and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah.
“Here is the visa document that I came to the UK with. I was nine and that is my photo but not my name. From that moment, coming in with a different name, different identity. I know I’ve taken someone else’s place and I do wonder what Mohamed is doing now?”
Sir Mo pointed out that he was about eight or nine years old when he was taken from home to stay with family in Djibouti. He was then flown over to the UK by a woman he had never met and wasn't related to.
She told him he was being taken to Europe to live with relatives there. Farah claims she had fake travel documents with her that showed his photo next to the name "Mohamed Farah".
When they arrived in the UK, the woman took him to her flat in Hounslow, west London, and took a piece of paper off him that had his relatives' contact details on.
"Right in front of me, she ripped it up and put it in the bin. At that moment, I knew I was in trouble, often I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry.”
Sir Mo says he had to do housework and childcare "if I wanted food in my mouth". He says the woman told him: "If you ever want to see your family again, don't say anything."
For the first few years the family didn't allow him to go to school, but when he was about 12 he enrolled in Year 7 at Feltham Community College.
Staff were told Sir Mo was a refugee from Somalia.
But out of adversity comes opportunity, Sir Mo's PE teacher, Alan Watkinson, noticed a transformation in the young boy when he hit the athletics track.
He eventually confided in Mr Watkinson about his true identity, his background, and the family he was being forced to work for.
The PE teacher contacted social services and helped Sir Mo to be fostered by another Somali family.
"I still missed my real family, but from that moment everything got better. I felt like a lot of stuff was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like me. That's when Mo came out - the real Mo."
Sir Mo began making a name for himself as an athlete and aged 14 he was invited to compete for English schools at a race in Latvia - but he didn't have any travel documents.
Mr Watkinson helped him apply for British citizenship under the name Mohamed Farah, which was granted in July 2000.
The rest is history, Farah went on to be one of the most successful British athletes of all time, accumulating 10 global titles over 5,000m and 10,000m. In a home Olympics at London 2012, he won Britain’s first ever 10,000M gold medal to cap off ‘Super Saturday’.
The bravery shown by Sir Mo to share his story is inspirational. It signals to every refugee worldwide that no matter their situation, you can be great and achieve anything you put your mind to.
The reaction to the news and the documentary was wholly positive, which should have been a prerequisite. London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted his support: “Everything Sir Mo has survived proves he’s not only one of our greatest Olympians but a truly great Briton.
“Mo Farah thank you for sharing your story & shining a spotlight on these awful crimes. We must build a future where these tragic events are never repeated.”
Conservative Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi also came out in support, who said: “Heartbroken, painful. I was very lucky that I had my parents with me when we fled Iraq. “It was difficult, no doubt, I was 11 years old, I didn’t understand why we were fleeing Saddam Hussein, I knew he was a dictator, I knew he was bad.
“All I can say is I salute Mo Farah. What an amazing human being to go through that trauma in childhood, and to come through it and be such a great role model is truly inspirational – and exemplary.”
In an interview on BBC’s Radio 4 Today, fellow Olympian Brendan Foster said: “I thought I knew the Mo Farah story, and I thought I knew Mo Farah really well.
“I’ve known him for more than 20 years, since he was a young kid. First time I ever met him, I was commentating for the BBC and he was running the junior cross-country world championships.
“He knocked on the commentator’s door, and I opened the door and he said: ‘Don’t you want to interview me?’, and I said: ‘Well, you only finished 17th, and we don’t normally interview the guy who’s finished 17th.
“I said: ‘Look Mo, when you win something, we’ll come back and interview you’, and obviously, he went on to win many things. But he was still the cheeky chap. He was still the guy who liked to laugh and have fun.
“He hasn’t lied to anybody, but imagine having to bury that and live with that story. My admiration for Mo has gone up.”
A whole host of UK charities also came out in full support for the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history. Enver Solomon, CEO of the Refugee Council, said: “We salute Sir Mo for his bravery in speaking out about his story. Like so many others he has faced unimaginable pain and by telling his story he is shining a light on global problems which require urgent and meaningful action.
“His candid account of the circumstances which brought him to the UK show the world that behind every statistic there is a human story which needs to be heard.
“It is a story which sends a powerful message that rather than unworkable schemes which treat people as human cargo there is a desperate need for safe, humane and effective routes for people seeking asylum. There are thousands of children who like Sir Mo have had their lives torn apart by war and persecution, many of whom are then cruelly exploited by traffickers.
“We should respond with sympathy and not further cruelty – criminalising the victim is never the answer. Sir Mo has made an enormous contribution to UK life, just like thousands of others who arrive on our shores and build new lives and new connections in this country.”
In the documentary, barrister Allan Briddock tells Sir Mo his nationality was technically "obtained by fraud or misrepresentations".
Legally, the government can remove a person's British nationality if their citizenship was obtained through fraud.
However, thanks to the positive reaction to the story and the fact that this incident is not Farah’s fault, the Home Office swiftly clarified their position with a statement which said: “No action whatsoever will be taken against Sir Mo and to suggest otherwise is wrong.
"A child is not complicit in gaining citizenship by deception. If a person was a child at the time of fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact was perpetrated that led to citizenship, the case will conclude that they were not complicit in any deception by their parent or guardians."
Reacting to this statement in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Mo said: “It makes me relieved. This is my country. If it wasn't for [my PE teacher] Alan and the people who supported me throughout my childhood then maybe I wouldn't even have the courage to do this.
"There's a lot of people that I owe my life to - particularly my wife, who has been very supportive throughout my career, and who gave me the strength to come and talk about it, telling me it's okay to do this.
"It was always my story. I wasn't even comfortable enough to talk about it with my family. I couldn't talk about it publicly. It has taken me a long time to come to this, but I'm glad I've made this documentary to show people the reality of what really happened to me as a child.
“I'm just happy to share what I've gone through and [has] made me the man I am today.
"I had no idea there was so many people who are going through exactly the same thing that I did. It just shows how lucky I was. What really saved me, what made me different, was that I could run."
Sir Mo told the documentary that he wanted to tell his story to challenge public perceptions of trafficking and slavery.
In the wake of the revelations, the couple who trafficked Sir Mo to the UK are facing a potential police investigation after Scotland Yard confirmed it is “assessing” the allegations made by the four-time Olympic champion.
A spokesman for the force said: “We are aware of reports in the media concerning Sir Mo Farah. No reports have been made to the MPS at this time.
“Specialist officers are currently assessing the available information.
“We believe there are victims of modern slavery, including children in every borough across London and the public may encounter them every day, possibly without realising. As well as being sexually exploited, victims have been found working in construction, domestic servitude, agriculture, cannabis factories and in places you use yourself, such as car washes, barbers and nail bars.”
The husband and wife accused of using Sir Mo as a domestic servant have separated but are still thought to be living in the UK.
Hope For Justice have been a longstanding non-profit organisation to raise awareness to spot the signs of modern day slavery and human trafficking. Hopefully with Farah’s story, more can turn to resources like these to spot the signs and help in the fight to stop human trafficking.
Hope for Justice, Tim Nelson, spoke to BBC News about the shocking revelations. He said: “I think this documentary raises the awareness and understanding of human trafficking. I would love to speak to Sir Mo to say how brave and courageous he is to have stepped out in this moment in time to explain what has happened to him and what is also happening to so many other victims across the globe.
“Just under one million children are reported to have been trafficked for domestic servitude across the world. The sad reality of what happens with human trafficking and modern day slavery is that these victims are taken and hidden from plain sight.
“In 2021 alone, there were 5,468 children that were identified as potential victims of modern day slavery in the UK. Of that total 275 were children that were identified primarily by police forces who were victims of domestic servitude in circumstances identical to that of Sir Mo.
“It’s absolutely ground-breaking for someone at the level and standard of Mo Farah internationally which such profile to come forward, and share his story. We know the power that these stories have to change lives.”
However, some have concerns over inconsistences in Sir Mo’s recollections, that do not tally with his own previous comments or autobiography.
But Farah has shone a light on how refugees are treated, in stark contrast to how many British politicians and sections of society have been dismissive at the prospect of helping and caring for refugees.
Indeed, in November last year Amnesty International concluded that the UK Government's failed to open safe and legal routes for refugees to travel in. This was, they determined, a critical factor in the tragic deaths of refugees attempting to cross the Channel to the UK.
The Government took no notice of the criticism, and a mere few months ago announced a proposal whereby individuals identified by the United Kingdom as being illegal immigrants or asylum seekers, would be relocated to Rwanda. They would be transported there for processing, asylum and resettlement, coupled with the hope that this would deter refugees from making the journey across the channel. A lack of compassion to refugees has become a staple of tory rule.
There should be nothing but huge respect to Sir Mo for sharing this incredibly personal story and to everyone who helped bring it forward. It’s so unusual to see our hierarchies flipped in this way but hopefully Farah’s story will speak for other victims who would otherwise be voiceless.
If anything can humanise what trafficking means for those involved, this story will. It has made even the Daily Mail report on immigration with compassion, something you rarely see.
Sir Mo is just one example of the many victims but with any luck, this story will open people's eyes to what is happening across the world. Hopefully it will also stop this being about the numbers. It has been so good to see such a positive reaction but this should not be the exception, this should be for all.
MISS – INTERNATIONAL BOXING ASSOCIATION
Sport, at its very essence, is about respect and fair play.
Adhering to the rules and winning fairly is fundamental.
Boxing, one of the core sports at the Olympic Games, has been mired in controversy for years, with in-fighting and accusations of corruption throwing the sport into crisis.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stripped the International Boxing Association (IBA) of its rights to organise boxing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the second Games where it will run the due to ongoing concerns over governance issues within the organisation.
A recent report by sports investigator Richard McLaren said “corruption abounded” when he concluded his report into IBA’s governance.
McLaren highlighted a litany of financial and bout integrity issues including “unjustifiable” judging scores and warnings by referees to boxers, plus secret signalling between officials in arenas.
“The people in the sport must change,” McLaren said. “They have ingrained learned behaviours in a culture that has historically not respected ethics or integrity.
“Corruption abounded. The trickle-down effect was that officials at all levels of the sport felt they could bend the rules with impunity.”
But boxing remains in crisis.
During elections to decide the IBA President held in Istanbul this year, a number of candidates were barred from standing over a minor breach of the rules.
Dutchman Boris van der Vorst Van, Mike McAtee, Steve Hartley and Per-Axel Sjöholm all appealed successfully to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which “would have deserved a light sanction such as a warning or even no sanction, but not an exclusion from the election," the court said in a statement.
Umar Kremlev, who was re-elected as President during the vote, was also deemed by CAS to have broken the same rules, but not excluded from standing.
The inability to stage fair and transparent elections has hardly served IBA’s cause and further underlined the concerns and to his credit, Kremlev agreed that a new election should be held.
He said: “I am grateful for the confidence shown in me by the Member Federations of IBA both at the elections of 2020 and again this year. If CAS has stated that my opponent should have been eligible to stand for election, then let us have a new election.
“In boxing, we should never be afraid of competition. I have seen for myself, countless times, the way that boxing can change young lives for the better and I have experienced this myself.
“Boxing gave me much as a youth. It greatly improved my future. Now I am at a point where I can give back to boxing and greatly improve our sport’s future and I am proud to do so.”
Yet even re-running the election has proved to be problematic.
Robert Reher, head of the Slovenian Boxing Association, criticised van der Vorst over proposals to stage the elections in Lausanne, where visa requirements are more stringent and may prohibit some delegates from attending.
Reher said: ”I believe that our favourite sport, the sport we live for, should not be mixed up with politics, but that is exactly what is happening now, as the Extraordinary Congress was initiated in Switzerland, which is not far from the home country of the already mentioned Presidential candidate (van der Vorst Van).”
The candidates responded with a letter which underlined the importance of reassuring the IOC that the new elections and governance is watertight.
The letter stated: “You are right, there are many countries with more lenient visa policies than Switzerland.
"We understand that many would have to go through considerable difficulties in acquiring a Schengen visa. Nevertheless, with 80 days remaining, there is sufficient time to apply and receive visas provided that the necessary decisions are timely made by the IBA.
"Switzerland hosted AIBA Congresses on numerous occasions in the past, including an Extraordinary Congress in 2016.
"There are clear opportunities to optimize the organizational budget when Congress is set close to its Head Office, aside from the obvious advantages in operational control effectiveness.
“Above all, we kindly ask you to consider the fact that the Olympic future of our sport is on the line, as well as the Olympic dreams of boxers around the world.
"If we are serious about keeping boxing Olympic, we need to be close and open to the IOC as well as other major sports stakeholders.
"This means that the upcoming Congress should be held right in front of their eyes, in a country that is ranked among the world top 10 democracies with lowest corruption levels."
Needless to say, IBA chose to ignore the request and announced that it was staging the Extraordinary Congress in Yerevan in Armenia.
Kremlev said: “After careful study of proposals from different countries [the Board of Directors] choose Armenia has as a host for the upcoming Congress.
“Armenia showed their great organisational skills during EUBC (European Boxing Confederation) Elite Men’s Championships in May this year. Government support, accessibility and simplified visa process helped the country to win."
The fact that Armenia is Russia’s only ally in the South Caucasus while the war against Ukraine is ongoing does not suggest that IBA fully understand the implications and potential consequences of choosing Yerevan.
The simplicity of securing a visa seems to have over-ridden safety and political concerns and the lack of major airlines who now fly to Armenia because of their alliance with Russia.
The fact that IBA promised that the Extraordinary Congress will be live streamed to allow online participation for those who are unable to attend in person leaves the entire process open to further scrutiny, mismanagement and possible manipulation which could end their connection with the Olympic Movement for good.