The Reasons We Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Community

A pair of Kurdish-background individuals agreed to go undercover to reveal a organization behind unlawful High Street establishments because the wrongdoers are damaging the image of Kurdish people in the UK, they say.

The pair, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both lived legally in the UK for many years.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running small shops, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was taking part.

Armed with secret recording devices, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a mini-mart from which to distribute unlawful tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to discover how easy it is for someone in these circumstances to start and run a enterprise on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their identities, assisting to mislead the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also managed to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who asserted that he could remove government fines of up to £60,000 faced those hiring unauthorized employees.

"I aimed to contribute in uncovering these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't characterize our community," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not internationally recognised as a state - because his well-being was at threat.

The investigators admit that conflicts over unauthorized migration are high in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the investigation could worsen conflicts.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized working "damages the whole Kurdish-origin community" and he feels driven to "bring it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Furthermore, Ali says he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this notably struck him when he realized that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be seen at the gathering, reading "we want our nation back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring online response to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and report it has sparked significant outrage for some. One social media post they found said: "How can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like animals!"

A different called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be attacked.

They have also seen claims that they were agents for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no intention of hurting the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to expose those who have compromised its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and profoundly troubled about the actions of such people."

Most of those applying for refugee status say they are fleeing political oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a non-profit that supports asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the case for our covert reporter one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for years. He explains he had to live on less than £20 a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a week - or £9.95 if they are in housing which includes meals, according to government policies.

"Honestly saying, this is not adequate to sustain a dignified existence," states Mr Avicil from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are mostly prohibited from employment, he feels many are vulnerable to being manipulated and are practically "forced to work in the unofficial economy for as little as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the Home Office commented: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant refugee applicants the right to be employed - doing so would create an motivation for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum cases can take years to be resolved with nearly a third requiring over 12 months, according to official data from the spring this current year.

Saman explains being employed without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or mini-mart would have been quite straightforward to do, but he told the team he would never have done that.

Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed working in illegal convenience stores during his investigation seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used all of their money to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their asylum denied and now they've lost everything."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed desperate.

"When [they] say you're prohibited to be employed - but additionally [you]