On arrival in the UK, they were met at the airport by the woman’s husband, Sir Mo said, and went to a house in Hounslow, west London.
He had written his relatives’ contact details on a piece of paper, but “the lady took it from me and right in front of me tore it to pieces and put it in the bin, and that’s when I knew I was in trouble.”
Sir Mo recalled his time at home and said: ‘When the man was around I was treated very differently, but often we didn’t see him for weeks. From the first day it was not right what the lady did. I was not treated like part of the family.
“If I wanted food in my mouth, my job was to take care of those kids, shower them, cook for them, clean for them, and she said, ‘If you ever want to see your family again, then don’t say anything or they will take you away.’
“A lot of times I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry.”
He attended high school at Feltham Community College, where he told his PE teacher, Alan Watkinson, about his situation and his true identity.
The school informed social services and Sir Mo was placed with Kinsi Farah, the mother of a school friend. He stayed with her for seven years and said he was happy there.
When Sir Mo was 14 years old and a promising athlete, he was selected to represent English schools in Europe and needed documentation to travel abroad.