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

Two Kurdish-background men decided to operate secretly to uncover a organization behind unlawful main street establishments because the lawbreakers are damaging the image of Kurds in the UK, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided lawfully in the United Kingdom for years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was operating small shops, hair salons and car washes the length of the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with covert recording devices, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no permission to work, looking to purchase and manage a mini-mart from which to sell contraband tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to reveal how simple it is for a person in these situations to set up and run a enterprise on the High Street in public view. The individuals involved, we learned, compensate Kurdish individuals who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, helping to mislead the government agencies.

Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly record one of those at the heart of the organization, who stated that he could erase official penalties of up to £60,000 faced those using unauthorized laborers.

"I wanted to contribute in revealing these unlawful operations [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't speak for us," explains one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the UK without authorization, having fled the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a nation - because his well-being was at threat.

The investigators acknowledge that conflicts over illegal migration are significant in the UK and state they have both been anxious that the inquiry could intensify tensions.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized working "negatively affects the entire Kurdish-origin population" and he considers compelled to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali says he was worried the coverage could be used by the extreme right.

He explains this particularly struck him when he noticed that extreme right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity rally was happening in the capital on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating covertly. Placards and flags could be observed at the gathering, showing "we want our nation returned".

Saman and Ali have both been observing social media feedback to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin community and report it has generated strong frustration for some. One Facebook comment they spotted said: "In what way can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to kill them like dogs!"

One more urged their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.

They have also encountered accusations that they were spies for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have compromised its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and extremely worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking asylum state they are escaping politically motivated persecution, according to an expert from the Refugee Workers Cultural Association, a charity that assists refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the case for our covert journalist one investigator, who, when he initially arrived to the United Kingdom, faced difficulties for many years. He says he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was considered.

Refugee applicants now get about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which offers meals, according to government regulations.

"Honestly stating, this is not sufficient to maintain a dignified lifestyle," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because refugee applicants are generally restricted from employment, he thinks a significant number are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to work in the black sector for as little as £3 per hourly rate".

A spokesperson for the authorities stated: "We make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would create an incentive for people to travel to the UK illegally."

Refugee cases can require years to be resolved with almost a one-third taking more than 12 months, according to official figures from the late March this current year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite simple to achieve, but he explained to the team he would not have participated in that.

Nevertheless, he states that those he interviewed working in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "confused", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the appeal stage.

"These individuals expended all their money to migrate to the UK, they had their refugee application denied and now they've forfeited their entire investment."

Ali acknowledges that these people seemed hopeless.

"If [they] state you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]