The Reasons We Chose to Go Undercover to Reveal Criminal Activity in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish-background men decided to work covertly to uncover a organization behind unlawful High Street establishments because the wrongdoers are damaging the image of Kurds in the Britain, they state.

The two, who we are referring to as Ali and Saman, are Kurdish journalists who have both resided lawfully in the UK for many years.

The team discovered that a Kurdish-linked illegal enterprise was running convenience stores, hair salons and vehicle cleaning services across the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it worked and who was involved.

Prepared with hidden cameras, Ali and Saman presented themselves as Kurdish-origin asylum seekers with no permission to work, attempting to buy and operate a small shop from which to sell unlawful cigarettes and electronic cigarettes.

The investigators were successful to uncover how straightforward it is for someone in these circumstances to set up and operate a enterprise on the main street in full view. The individuals participating, we found, compensate Kurdish individuals who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to fool the authorities.

Saman and Ali also were able to covertly document one of those at the centre of the operation, who asserted that he could eliminate government sanctions of up to £60k encountered those using illegal employees.

"Personally sought to play a role in revealing these unlawful practices [...] to say that they don't represent us," states one reporter, a ex- refugee applicant personally. The reporter entered the country illegally, having escaped from the Kurdish region - a region that straddles the borders of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not globally acknowledged as a country - because his safety was at risk.

The journalists admit that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are high in the UK and state they have both been worried that the inquiry could inflame hostilities.

But the other reporter says that the illegal employment "damages the whole Kurdish community" and he believes compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into broad daylight".

Additionally, Ali mentions he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the radical right.

He says this notably struck him when he noticed that radical right campaigner a prominent activist's Unite the Kingdom protest was happening in London on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Banners and banners could be spotted at the gathering, showing "we demand our nation back".

The reporters have both been tracking social media feedback to the inquiry from within the Kurdish-origin community and explain it has generated strong outrage for some. One Facebook comment they observed said: "In what way can we find and locate [the undercover reporters] to attack them like dogs!"

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

They have also read accusations that they were informants for the British authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "Both of us are not informants, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish population," one reporter says. "Our aim is to expose those who have harmed its image. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish heritage and profoundly worried about the behavior of such individuals."

Most of those seeking refugee status claim they are fleeing political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a charitable organization, a organization that supports refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

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

Refugee applicants now are provided about £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in shelter which offers meals, according to Home Office policies.

"Honestly stating, this is not adequate to maintain a respectable existence," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from employment, he thinks numerous are vulnerable to being manipulated and are effectively "obligated to labor in the unofficial sector for as little as three pounds per hour".

A official for the Home Office stated: "The government are unapologetic for refusing to grant asylum seekers the right to be employed - doing so would create an motivation for individuals to travel to the UK illegally."

Asylum cases can take a long time to be resolved with nearly a one-third requiring more than a year, according to official data from the end of March this year.

Saman explains being employed illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, barbershop or convenience store would have been quite simple to do, but he informed the team he would not have participated in that.

However, he explains that those he interviewed employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.

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

Ali acknowledges that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're forbidden to work - but also [you]