Why We Chose to Go Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish men consented to work covertly to uncover a operation behind unlawful main street establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurds in the United Kingdom, they say.

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

Investigators found that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was running small shops, barbershops and car washes across the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was participating.

Prepared with secret cameras, Ali and Saman posed as Kurdish-origin refugee applicants with no right to be employed, attempting to acquire and run a convenience store from which to trade illegal tobacco products and vapes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for a person in these circumstances to start and operate a business on the commercial area in full view. The individuals participating, we learned, compensate Kurds who have UK citizenship to legally establish the businesses in their names, helping to deceive the officials.

Ali and Saman also were able to discreetly document one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could erase government fines of up to £60,000 imposed on those using unauthorized workers.

"I wanted to contribute in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they do not speak for us," states one reporter, a former refugee applicant himself. Saman came to the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a region that spans the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a state - because his safety was at risk.

The journalists admit that tensions over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and explain they have both been concerned that the investigation could worsen hostilities.

But Ali explains that the unauthorized employment "harms the entire Kurdish-origin community" and he feels compelled to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Furthermore, Ali mentions he was worried the publication could be exploited by the far-right.

He says this especially impressed him when he noticed that radical right campaigner Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom protest was taking place in London on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Signs and flags could be spotted at the gathering, displaying "we want our country back".

Saman and Ali have both been monitoring social media reaction to the investigation from inside the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked intense outrage for certain individuals. One Facebook message they observed said: "In what way can we locate and find [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

A different demanded their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also seen accusations that they were agents for the UK government, and betrayers to other Kurdish people. "We are not spies, and we have no intention of damaging the Kurdish community," one reporter states. "Our objective is to uncover those who have harmed its standing. We are honored of our Kurdish identity and profoundly troubled about the actions of such persons."

Most of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the a charitable organization, a non-profit that helps asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the UK.

This was the situation for our covert reporter Saman, who, when he first came to the UK, struggled for years. He states he had to live on under twenty pounds a per week while his asylum claim was processed.

Refugee applicants now receive about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to official regulations.

"Realistically speaking, this isn't adequate to sustain a dignified life," says the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally restricted from employment, he thinks many are vulnerable to being exploited and are practically "compelled to work in the unofficial sector for as low as £3 per hour".

A representative for the government department said: "We make no apology for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to be employed - doing so would create an incentive for people to migrate to the United Kingdom without authorization."

Asylum applications can require years to be processed with approximately a 33% taking more than 12 months, according to government statistics from the late March this year.

Saman states working without authorization in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to do, but he informed the team he would never have participated in that.

Nonetheless, he states that those he encountered working in illegal convenience stores during his research seemed "lost", especially those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"They used their entire savings to travel to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've lost all they had."

Ali agrees that these people seemed hopeless.

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