The Reasons We Went Undercover to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

Two Kurdish individuals consented to work covertly to reveal a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the lawbreakers are negatively affecting the image of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin reporters who have both resided lawfully in the UK for years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating convenience stores, barbershops and vehicle cleaning services the length of the UK, and sought to learn more about how it functioned and who was taking part.

Equipped with covert cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to be employed, seeking to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to trade unlawful cigarettes and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how simple it is for an individual in these situations to start and manage a enterprise on the main street in plain sight. Those participating, we found, pay Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, assisting to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly document one of those at the core of the operation, who claimed that he could eliminate official fines of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those using illegal employees.

"I sought to play a role in uncovering these illegal activities [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman entered the United Kingdom illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his life was at danger.

The investigators recognize that disagreements over unauthorized migration are elevated in the UK and explain they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame hostilities.

But Ali explains that the illegal employment "damages the whole Kurdish-origin population" and he believes obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into the open".

Furthermore, Ali says he was concerned the reporting could be used by the far-right.

He says this particularly impressed him when he discovered that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was working covertly. Placards and banners could be seen at the protest, showing "we demand our country back".

Both journalists have both been tracking online feedback to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and say it has caused strong anger for some. One Facebook post they observed said: "In what way can we identify and locate [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

Another urged their families in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen claims that they were agents for the UK government, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish-origin population," Saman states. "Our goal is to expose those who have harmed its reputation. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely worried about the activities of such people."

Most of those applying for refugee status state they are fleeing politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially came to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was processed.

Asylum seekers now receive about forty-nine pounds a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes food, according to Home Office guidance.

"Realistically saying, this isn't sufficient to sustain a dignified life," explains the expert from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are generally prevented from employment, he feels a significant number are open to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to work in the illegal market for as low as three pounds per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities said: "The government make no apology for not granting asylum seekers the right to be employed - granting this would create an incentive for individuals to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Asylum applications can take multiple years to be resolved with nearly a one-third taking more than one year, according to government statistics from the late March this current year.

The reporter says being employed illegally in a car wash, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite straightforward to achieve, but he explained to the team he would never have engaged in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he encountered working in unauthorized convenience stores during his investigation seemed "lost", particularly those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"These individuals used all of their money to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application rejected and now they've sacrificed their entire investment."

Ali agrees that these people seemed in dire straits.

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