So for this you will actually need both programs, Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia Freehand, as well as the AI file.
1. Open the file in Illustrator.
2. Release compound paths by selecting all objects and click 'Object>Compound Path>Release'
3. Save as an Illustrator file, choose version 8 in the Options dialogue:
4. You should now be able to open the fully editable AI file in Freehand! Good luck and please comment if this didn't work or if you know of any other tricks.