Ahmed was just two when he was brought to Britain with big brother Mo but now he faces being deported back to the war-torn country
Thousands of proud Brits are poised to salute athletics legend Mo Farah at Olympic parades, but there’s one man who won’t be joining the cheers.
Mo is set to lead Team GB heroes at celebrations in London and Manchester – and is also tipped to receive a knighthood for grabbing gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at two Games running.
But his younger brother Ahmed can’t enjoy or share the moment because he faces being booted out of Britain and sent back to Somalia.
Ahmed, 27, was just two when he and an eight-year-old Mo were brought to Britain 25 years ago.
Now he faces being deported back to the war-torn country for crimes that landed him in jail in the UK in 2011.
In a direct plea to officials planning to kick him out, Ahmed says: “I can’t go back to where Mo and I were born – it is too dangerous.
“I’m scared I would end up dead. I feel there’s no hope for me.
“I am afraid for my life. I have no roots in Somalia. People would kill me, because I’m different. They would not class me as their own.
“They’d see me as an outsider, somebody whose family ran away and they don’t want to welcome me back.”
Ahmed’s plea comes after he was among TV millions who witnessed Mo achieve athletics immortality by winning double gold at Rio.
But the brothers’ lives could barely be more different.
While Mo – now based in the US – has a wife, four kids and a fortune from athletics, Ahmed lives in a high-rise West London flat, biding his time as he awaits the dreaded news he must quit the UK.
It is the home he and Mo first lived in when their father Muktar brought them and another brother, Wahib, to Britain in 1991.
As Ahmed sat alone in the lounge of the one-bed flat, there was no trace of Mo, no pictures on display.
It is just the TV set in the corner which provides a window into the life of his superstar brother.
Ahmed says: “Mo and I do not see each other now or speak. Of course I am incredibly proud of what he has done and I am sure he will go on to achieve even more. But I’ve no idea what life holds for me.”
For now, Ahmed’s sole thought is survival and a desperate desire to stay in the UK.
Ahmed, who lives with another brother, Mahad, 22, says: “Everyone is here for me. Who’s back in Somalia?
“Nobody. I’m going to lose my family – the people I see day in, day out. That’s hard enough for me to deal with.
“I’m afraid for my life. I know I’m not going to survive out there. Everything is different.
“I can’t even fathom how it’s going to be. I can’t cover up my history. I’m going to be an outcast. People would attack me.
“Where would I go? They’re going to take me to the airport and where would I go after that?
“I’d have to walk the streets. I’ll just get attacked. People are going to detect I’m not from there – the way I talk, my swagger, everything about me.
“I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb. I’m a Muslim and I pray, and I keep faith in God, but things like my tattoos
are forbidden under Sharia law.”
The former warehouse worker hit rock bottom after getting a four-and-a-half-year jail sentence for false imprisonment over his involvement in a knife raid.
He was released early but was later told he faces deportation due to his crimes.
Legal hearings have been repeatedly delayed and the authorities have yet to tell him how or when he will be sent back to Somalia.
Ahmed says of his past: “I wasn’t a horrible person. I made a hell of a mistake and now I’m paying with my life.
“My lifestyle was bad. I was hyperactive, I used to drink, but you can’t blame stuff on alcohol. I’ve just got to put my hands up and say that mistake happened, it’s never going to happen again.
“Prison has made me a better person.”
But the former Uxbridge College student says he has given up hope of ever seeing Mo again.
He now wants to get on with his own life, find a trade and pay society back.
Ahmed says: “I’m a 27-year-old man who just wants to crack on with life. I’ve done my time.
“Right now I’m putting on a brave face, but at times I can’t sleep.
“When Mo was around he was a brother. Would I have got into the trouble I did if he was still around?
“I don’t think so. He wasn’t there to tell me not to do this or not to do that.
“I didn’t have an older brother to tell me anything, so I had to learn it myself.
“I’m proud of him and I’m happy he’s won his double double. I could never hold any grudges.
“He deserves a knighthood. He’s worked hard his whole life. I’m pleased he won.”
Equally concerned is younger brother Mahad, a Warehouseman.
He says: “If Ahmed gets deported I’m going to lose a big part of my life.
“It’s so confusing, I’m here, Mo’s way up there, making whatever he’s making, and this guy’s just here, stuck here, waiting to see if he gets deported or not.
“If Ahmed leaves then I don’t have a life any more. I wouldn’t be the same happy person.
“My life as I know it would crumble. I don’t even want to think about life without this guy.”
Mo became estranged from his brothers when he moved out of the flat to live with an aunt after his athletic prowess was spotted.
The brothers lost touch as the years drifted by and Ahmed and Mahad only learned of Mo’s 2010 wedding to Tania Nell in a newspaper.
The couple have four children together but Mo’s relationship with many other relatives has become equally distant.
His father Muktar now lives in Manchester and his mother Amran is believed to still be living in Somalia.
Mo reportedly speaks to her but has not seen his father for many years.
He has a twin brother – Hassan – in Somalia. Mo brought him over to the UK after the London 2012 Olympics.
Then there are four other brothers – Wahib, Omar, Nimo and Ifrah, all living in the UK.
But Mahad says the family struggles to keep up with the pace of Mo’s life.
He says: “He’s got another kid now – a little boy. I found out through the media, my neighbours knew before I did.
“He moves about so fast how can I catch up with that guy? I ain’t an Olympic runner. He switches up numbers all the time.”
Mahad wishes Mo could save Ahmed with a word in the corridors of power, but holds little hope it would make a difference.
Mahad says: “If Mo could help that would be nice.
“But there are hundreds of thousands of people who need help. Just because I’ve got a famous brother it doesn’t mean Mo can just walk over and talk to Theresa May.
“Life just doesn’t work like that. I wish it did. I have no idea whether Mo knows what’s going on in Ahmed’s life.
“I hope he does. I wish I could congratulate him. But I wish he could come here and congratulate me for things I’ve done.”
Despite their lack of contact, the entire family watched Mo’s triumph from the cramped council flat.
Mahad adds: “Seeing him trip over and get back up before finishing first in the 10,000 metres was incredible. I knew he was going to win.
“Just from the look on his face before he started, I knew he was going to win.
“A few people doubted it, but I knew. We were there for every race.
“When he crossed the finishing line we were all happy.”
But even Mo’s achievements can trigger sadness – because they highlight the lack of contact between the brothers.
Mahad goes on: “He’s just trying to build his career. I understand that. But at the same time he should get in contact with his family.
“He should say ‘Hello, how are you doing?’ He doesn’t even know if someone has died or not.
“If I died tomorrow would he even know? Would he come to my funeral?
“Because if that’s not the case then he’s nothing to me, I wouldn’t even tell people we’re related.”
Calls for Mo to be knighted came after he clinched his double gold in Rio and became only the second athlete in history to defend both the 5,000m and 10,000m gold medals in successive Olympics.
He is the most successful athlete in British history, having also won nine world titles, holding multiple records and being awarded the CBE after London 2012.
SOURCE:THEMIRROR
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