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 thereโs one man who wonโt be joining the cheers.
Mo is set to lead Team GB heroes at celebrations in London and Manchester โ 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 canโt 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: โI canโt go back to where Mo and I were born โ it is too dangerous.
“Iโm scared I would end up dead. I feel thereโs no hope for me.
โI am afraid for my life. I have no roots in Somalia. People would kill me, because Iโm different. They would not class me as their own.
โTheyโd see me as an outsider, somebody whose family ran away and they donโt want to welcome me back.โ
Ahmedโs plea comes after he was among TV millions who witnessed Mo achieve athletics immortality by winning double gold at Rio.
But the brothersโ lives could barely be more different.
While Mo โ now based in the US โ 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: โMo 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 Iโve no idea what life holds for me.โ
For now, Ahmedโs sole thought is survival and a desperate desire to stay in the UK.
Ahmed, who lives with another brother, Mahad, 22, says: โEveryone is here for me. Whoโs back in Somalia?
“Nobody. Iโm going to lose my family โ the people I see day in, day out. Thatโs hard enough for me to deal with.
โIโm afraid for my life. I know Iโm not going to survive out there. Everything is different.
โI canโt even fathom how itโs going to be. I canโt cover up my history. Iโm going to be an outcast. People would attack me.
โWhere would I go? Theyโre going to take me to the airport and where would I go after that?
“Iโd have to walk the streets. Iโll just get attacked. People are going to detect Iโm not from there โ the way I talk, my swagger, everything about me.
โIโm going to stick out like a sore thumb. Iโm a Muslim and I pray, and I keep faith in God, but things like my tattoos
are forbidden under Sharia law.โ
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: โI wasnโt a horrible person. I made a hell of a mistake and now Iโm paying with my life.
“My lifestyle was bad. I was hyperactive, I used to drink, but you canโt blame stuff on alcohol. Iโve just got to put my hands up and say that mistake happened, itโs never going to happen again.
โPrison has made me a better person.โ
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: โIโm a 27-year-old man who just wants to crack on with life. Iโve done my time.
“Right now Iโm putting on a brave face, but at times I canโt sleep.
โWhen Mo was around he was a brother. Would I have got into the trouble I did if he was still around?
“I donโt think so. He wasnโt there to tell me not to do this or not to do that.
โI didnโt have an older brother to tell me anything, so I had to learn it myself.
โIโm proud of him and Iโm happy heโs won his double double. I could never hold any grudges.
“He deserves a knighthood. Heโs worked hard his whole life. Iโm pleased he won.โ
Equally concerned is younger brother Mahad, a Warehouseman.
He says: โIf Ahmed gets deported Iโm going to lose a big part of my life.
โItโs so confusing, Iโm here, Moโs way up there, making whatever heโs making, and this guyโs just here, stuck here, waiting to see if he gets deported or not.
“If Ahmed leaves then I donโt have a life any more. I wouldnโt be the same happy person.
“My life as I know it would crumble. I donโt even want to think about life without this guy.โ
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 Moโs 2010 wedding to Tania Nell in a newspaper.
The couple have four children together but Moโs 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 โ Hassan โ in Somalia. Mo brought him over to the UK after the London 2012 Olympics.
Then there are four other brothers โ Wahib, Omar, Nimo and Ifrah, all living in the UK.
But Mahad says the family struggles to keep up with the pace of Moโs life.
He says: โHeโs got another kid now โ a little boy. I found out through the media, my neighbours knew before I did.
โHe moves about so fast how can I catch up with that guy? I ainโt an Olympic runner. He switches up numbers all the time.โ
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: โIf Mo could help that would be nice.
โBut there are hundreds of thousands of people who need help. Just because Iโve got a famous brother it doesnโt mean Mo can just walk over and talk to Theresa May.
โLife just doesnโt work like that. I wish it did. I have no idea whether Mo knows whatโs going on in Ahmedโs life.
โI hope he does. I wish I could ยญcongratulate him. But I wish he could come here and congratulate me for things Iโve done.โ
Despite their lack of contact, the entire family watched Moโs triumph from the cramped council flat.
Mahad adds: โSeeing him trip over and get back up before finishing first in the 10,000 metres was incredible. I knew he was going to win.
โJust 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.
โWhen he crossed the finishing line we were all happy.โ
But even Moโs achievements can trigger sadness โ because they highlight the lack of contact between the brothers.
Mahad goes on: โHeโs just trying to build his career. I understand that. But at the same time he should get in contact with his family.
โHe should say โHello, how are you doing?โ He doesnโt even know if someone has died or not.
“If I died tomorrow would he even know? Would he come to my funeral?
“Because if thatโs not the case then heโs nothing to me, I wouldnโt even tell people weโre related.โ
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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