What’s the story?
Four-time Olympic Gold medal winner Sir Mo Farah ripped into US President Donald Trump’s new immigration laws which prevent citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country for a period of ninety days.
Calling the travel ban as “ignorant” and “prejudiced”, Farah said that this policy made his feel like “an alien”. And now he feels that he might have to tell his children “ that Daddy might not be able to come home” owing to the new policies.
In a heartfelt message on his official Facebook page, the long distance runner wrote:
“On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien.
“I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years - working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome. It’s deeply troubling that I will have to tell my children that Daddy might not be able to come home - to explain why the President has introduced a policy that comes from a place of ignorance and prejudice.
“I was welcomed into Britain from Somalia at eight years old and given the chance to succeed and realise my dreams. I have been proud to represent my country, win medals for the British people and receive the greatest honour of a knighthood. My story is an example of what can happen when you follow policies of compassion and understanding, not hate and isolation.”
In case you didn't know...
After setting foot in the White Hose earlier this month, one of Donald Trump's first act as the President of the United States was to impose the travel ban which prevents citizens from the countries of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen to enter the nation. The ban extends to people holding dual citizenship of other nations.
Mo Farah, who was born in Somalia, moved to Britain at the age of eight and later went on to be knighted by the Queen for his exemplary achievements in the field of athletics. He was, in fact, the face of the Britain Olympic contingent at Beijing.
The runner, in recent years, moved to the United states and is now based in Oregon. However, with the athlete having dual-citizenship, he might not be allowed to enter the United States owing to this policy.
The heart of the matter
The US State Department in the recent announcement said that Britons with dual nationality with Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen will be stopped at the US border for the next 90 days. This law will now affect more than 250,000 people who were born in Iraq, Iran and Somalia and have dual British nationality. There are no figures available for people who were born in Syria, Libya, Sudan or Yemen.
However, in latest developments, a temporary halt was issued by a US judge on the deportation of people who had already arrived in the US with a valid visa but were not being allowed to enter.
What next?
Farah is currently training in Ethiopia at high altitudes in preparation for an upcoming event in Birmingham. Farah is a British citizen with a British passport and does not have dual nationality or a Somalian passport. However, he feels that the new laws could deny him entry into the nation where he has resided for the last six years. And it will certainly be interesting to see what transpires when he intends to return to the United States.
Sportskeeda’s take
Donald Trump’s divisive policies have often drawn the ire from across the world. These include his build a wall across the Mexican border and his harsh words against Islam. And the latest policy just goes to show, that how troublesome these divisive policies can be. Stigmatising based on pure nationality is wrong on all accounts and we hope that such prejudiced policies are repealed as soon as possible.
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