Why We Went Covert to Uncover Crime in the Kurdish-origin Community

A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to operate secretly to reveal a network behind illegal High Street enterprises because the criminals are negatively affecting the reputation of Kurdish people in the United Kingdom, they explain.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both lived legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.

The team uncovered that a Kurdish illegal enterprise was managing convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services throughout the UK, and aimed to find out more about how it worked and who was participating.

Equipped with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish refugee applicants with no authorization to work, attempting to purchase and operate a small shop from which to sell illegal cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

They were successful to reveal how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to establish and operate a enterprise on the High Street in full view. The individuals participating, we learned, pay Kurdish individuals who have UK residency to legally establish the enterprises in their identities, helping to deceive the government agencies.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly record one of those at the centre of the operation, who claimed that he could erase government sanctions of up to £60,000 encountered those hiring illegal employees.

"I wanted to contribute in revealing these illegal practices [...] to say that they don't characterize Kurdish people," explains one reporter, a former asylum seeker personally. The reporter entered the country illegally, having fled Kurdistan - a territory that covers the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his well-being was at threat.

The journalists recognize that tensions over illegal immigration are high in the United Kingdom and explain they have both been anxious that the probe could intensify hostilities.

But the other reporter explains that the unauthorized labor "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "reveal it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, Ali explains he was concerned the coverage could be exploited by the radical right.

He says this especially impressed him when he realized that extreme right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom rally was happening in London on one of the weekends he was working secretly. Placards and banners could be observed at the protest, reading "we want our country returned".

Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the exposé from inside the Kurdish population and explain it has generated strong anger for some. One Facebook message they observed stated: "How can we locate and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

One more called for their relatives in the Kurdish region to be slaughtered.

They have also seen accusations that they were agents for the British government, and betrayers to fellow Kurdish people. "We are not informants, and we have no aim of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter explains. "Our objective is to uncover those who have damaged its reputation. We are honored of our Kurdish-origin identity and deeply concerned about the actions of such people."

The majority of those applying for refugee status state they are escaping political discrimination, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a organization that helps asylum seekers and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

This was the scenario for our undercover reporter one investigator, who, when he first came to the UK, experienced challenges for many years. He states he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his asylum claim was reviewed.

Asylum seekers now get approximately £49 a week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which provides meals, according to Home Office regulations.

"Practically stating, this isn't adequate to sustain a respectable existence," explains Mr Avicil from the the organization.

Because refugee applicants are largely restricted from employment, he believes many are open to being taken advantage of and are effectively "compelled to labor in the black market for as little as three pounds per hour".

A official for the Home Office commented: "We are unapologetic for not granting refugee applicants the authorization to work - doing so would generate an reason for people to migrate to the United Kingdom illegally."

Refugee applications can require years to be resolved with approximately a 33% taking more than one year, according to official statistics from the spring this year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to achieve, but he told us he would not have done that.

Nonetheless, he says that those he met employed in unauthorized mini-marts during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose refugee application has been rejected and who were in the appeals process.

"These individuals used their entire funds to come to the United Kingdom, they had their refugee application refused and now they've lost their entire investment."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed hopeless.

"When [they] declare you're prohibited to work - but simultaneously [you]