Track star Mo Farah’s trafficking story draws horror, understanding in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Many Somalis are reacting with horror — and a sense of understanding — at British runner Mo Farah’s tale of being trafficked to Britain as a child and forced to look after other children.

Olympic champion Farah was born in present-day Somaliland, a territory by the Gulf of Aden that has asserted independence from the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia. In a BBC documentary aired earlier this week, Farah revealed how as a boy of 8 or 9 he was separated from his family and trafficked from neighboring Djibouti to the U.K. under a new name under which he eventually ran for glory.

Here, in the Somali capital Mogadishu, those who have heard of Farah’s account express sadness for what he went through as a child forced to work in servitude. But they also point out that he was not alone in facing exploitation.

Conflict, climate change and economic collapse are displacing record numbers of people around the world, pushing more and more migrants into the hands of criminals who profit by smuggling them into Britain, the European Union and the U.S.

Somalis, like their neighbors in Ethiopia and Eritrea, are often among the desperate — people fleeing conflict and hunger in hopes of safety and a better life. Convinced they have little to lose, the young, in particular, risk their lives on flimsy boats organized by human traffickers who get them across the English Channel to Britain.

“It is certainly sad that Mo Farah had such a bad experience as a boy,” said Ahmed Dini, who runs the Mogadishu-based children’s rights group Peace-Line. “It has become evident that there are many contributing factors to child trafficking, such as poverty, a lack of adequate education, and insufficient security.”