Sir Mo Farah’s life had appeared to be, until this week, the stuff of dreams.
A young boy whose athletic gift was spotted by an inspirational PE teacher and who went on to become an Olympic and world champion long-distance runner.
But now we know much of his life, especially his childhood, was the stuff of nightmares.
Mo was trafficked into Britain as a boy of eight or nine and forced to work as a domestic servant in a house in West London.
The person who put him through that terrifying ordeal must be investigated by the police and feel the full weight of the law.
But what I found absurd was the statement by the Home Office – the home of the hostile environment – saying that Sir Mo was safe and under no threat of deportation.
Of course he isn’t, he was a child when these terrible things happened to him.
Look at all he achieved despite what he went through.
Mo was trafficked in 1993. Imagine if that happened now. How would little Hussein Kahin, Mo’s real name, be treated if he came to Britain in 2022?
Any teacher who tried to help him would sneeringly be labelled “woke”.
The Government’s policy of dealing with people who come to Britain to seek a new life (if they don’t fit their vision of who they consider welcome in our country) is to book them a one-way ticket to Rwanda.
How many potential Olympic athletes or future doctors and teachers, who could have so much to offer, would they send away?
Let’s not forget the Windrush scandal where people who were invited to rebuild Britain were later sent packing.
Even now, people who came to the UK “illegally” as children have the threat of deportations hanging over their heads if they step one foot out of line.
Mo’s story shows us what can happen when we treat newcomers with kindness and compassion.
They really can achieve anything and make our country a better place.
