The Reasons We Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

A pair of Kurdish men consented to operate secretly to uncover a operation behind unlawful commercial businesses because the lawbreakers are causing harm the reputation of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the United Kingdom, and aimed to discover more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Prepared with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no right to work, attempting to buy and run a convenience store from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for an individual in these situations to establish and run a commercial operation on the High Street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to register the operations in their names, helping to deceive the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly record one of those at the core of the organization, who asserted that he could eliminate official fines of up to £60,000 encountered those using unauthorized laborers.

"I wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal practices [...] to declare that they do not speak for Kurdish people," says one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a territory that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his life was at risk.

The reporters recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are high in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the inquiry could inflame tensions.

But Ali states that the unauthorized employment "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he feels obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, the journalist mentions he was anxious the coverage could be used by the radical right.

He says this particularly struck him when he discovered that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity march was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was working undercover. Placards and flags could be spotted at the protest, reading "we demand our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been tracking online response to the inquiry from inside the Kurdish-origin population and report it has caused strong frustration for certain individuals. One social media message they observed stated: "How can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were spies for the British authorities, and traitors to fellow Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to reveal those who have damaged its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin heritage and profoundly worried about the activities of such individuals."

The majority of those applying for asylum claim they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert journalist Saman, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for years. He states he had to survive on less than £20 a week while his refugee application was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive approximately forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in accommodation which includes food, according to official policies.

"Practically speaking, this isn't adequate to support a acceptable lifestyle," explains the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from working, he feels a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are essentially "forced to work in the illegal sector for as low as three pounds per hour".

A spokesperson for the government department said: "We are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the right to be employed - granting this would create an motivation for people to come to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum cases can require years to be resolved with almost a 33% taking more than one year, according to official figures from the late March this year.

Saman states being employed without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been very straightforward to do, but he informed the team he would never have engaged in that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They used their entire funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum rejected and now they've sacrificed everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed in dire straits.

"If [they] declare you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]