Why We Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish Population

Two Kurdish-background men decided to work covertly to expose a organization behind unlawful main street establishments because the criminals are causing harm the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they state.

The pair, who we are referring to as Saman and Ali, are Kurdish investigators who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running mini-marts, hair salons and car washes the length of the UK, and sought to find out more about how it operated and who was participating.

Armed with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no right to work, attempting to purchase and run a mini-mart from which to trade illegal tobacco products and electronic cigarettes.

They were able to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and manage a business on the commercial area in public view. The individuals participating, we discovered, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to register the enterprises in their names, helping to deceive the officials.

Saman and Ali also succeeded to secretly record one of those at the core of the organization, who claimed that he could eliminate official penalties of up to £60,000 imposed on those employing unauthorized workers.

"I aimed to contribute in uncovering these unlawful activities [...] to declare that they don't represent Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. Saman came to the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his safety was at danger.

The investigators admit that conflicts over illegal immigration are significant in the UK and say they have both been anxious that the investigation could inflame tensions.

But the other reporter says that the unauthorized working "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Separately, Ali explains he was concerned the reporting could be seized upon by the extreme right.

He says this especially impressed him when he discovered that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity march was occurring in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating undercover. Signs and flags could be spotted at the rally, reading "we want our nation returned".

The reporters have both been monitoring social media feedback to the exposé from within the Kurdish community and say it has generated significant outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they found read: "How can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"

One more urged their relatives in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read claims that they were spies for the UK authorities, and betrayers to fellow Kurds. "We are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish community," Saman states. "Our aim is to reveal those who have harmed its standing. Both journalists are proud of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply worried about the activities of such people."

The majority of those seeking refugee status claim they are fleeing political discrimination, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a charity that helps refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover journalist Saman, who, when he initially arrived to the UK, struggled for years. He says he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was reviewed.

Refugee applicants now receive about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in accommodation which offers food, according to official regulations.

"Honestly speaking, this is not adequate to sustain a respectable lifestyle," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because asylum seekers are generally prevented from working, he feels many are susceptible to being exploited and are essentially "obligated to labor in the illegal sector for as low as three pounds per hour".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "The government make no apology for refusing to grant refugee applicants the authorization to work - granting this would establish an motivation for individuals to travel to the UK without authorization."

Refugee cases can require a long time to be processed with nearly a third requiring more than 12 months, according to government figures from the end of March this current year.

The reporter states working without authorization in a car wash, hair salon or convenience store would have been quite easy to achieve, but he explained to us he would not have participated in that.

However, he says that those he met laboring in illegal mini-marts during his research seemed "disoriented", notably those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used all of their funds to migrate to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost everything."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed in dire straits.

"When [they] say you're not allowed to work - but additionally [you]