The Reasons Our Team Went Covert to Expose Crime in the Kurdish-origin Population

Two Kurdish men consented to work covertly to expose a organization behind unlawful main street establishments because the criminals are negatively affecting the standing of Kurds in the UK, they state.

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

The team found that a Kurdish criminal operation was running convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout Britain, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was involved.

Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali presented themselves as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to work, looking to buy and run a convenience store from which to trade contraband tobacco products and vapes.

They were able to discover how straightforward it is for someone in these conditions to start and run a enterprise on the main street in full view. Those involved, we learned, compensate Kurds who have British citizenship to legally establish the operations in their identities, enabling to fool the officials.

Saman and Ali also were able to secretly record one of those at the core of the operation, who claimed that he could erase official sanctions of up to £60k encountered those hiring unauthorized workers.

"I sought to play a role in exposing these illegal practices [...] to say that they don't represent Kurdish people," states Saman, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom illegally, having escaped from Kurdistan - a territory that straddles the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria but which is not internationally recognised as a country - because his life was at danger.

The journalists admit that conflicts over unauthorized migration are significant in the UK and explain they have both been worried that the inquiry could worsen tensions.

But Ali explains that the illegal working "damages the whole Kurdish population" and he considers obligated to "bring it [the criminal network] out into public view".

Additionally, the journalist explains he was worried the coverage could be exploited by the far-right.

He explains this particularly impressed him when he realized that far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson's national unity protest was taking place in the capital on one of the weekends he was operating secretly. Signs and flags could be seen at the protest, displaying "we want our nation back".

Both journalists have both been monitoring online response to the exposé from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has generated significant frustration for some. One Facebook comment they spotted stated: "In what way can we identify and track [the undercover reporters] to harm them like dogs!"

Another called for their families in Kurdistan to be harmed.

They have also read allegations that they were informants for the UK government, and traitors to other Kurdish people. "Both of us are not spies, and we have no desire of harming the Kurdish-origin population," one reporter explains. "Our goal is to reveal those who have damaged its standing. We are proud of our Kurdish identity and profoundly troubled about the activities of such persons."

The majority of those seeking refugee status state they are escaping political oppression, according to an expert from the a refugee support organization, a non-profit that supports refugees and refugee applicants in the United Kingdom.

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

Refugee applicants now are provided approximately £49 a per week - or nine pounds ninety-five if they are in housing which includes meals, according to government policies.

"Practically stating, this is not enough to sustain a dignified existence," states the expert from the RWCA.

Because asylum seekers are generally prohibited from working, he believes many are susceptible to being exploited and are effectively "obligated to work in the unofficial market for as low as £3 per hourly rate".

A representative for the Home Office stated: "We do not apologize for refusing to grant asylum seekers the authorization to work - doing so would establish an motivation for people to travel to the UK without authorization."

Refugee applications can require multiple years to be decided with nearly a third requiring more than one year, according to government statistics from the end of March this year.

The reporter explains working illegally in a vehicle cleaning service, hair salon or convenience store would have been extremely simple to do, but he informed the team he would not have done that.

Nevertheless, he says that those he met employed in unauthorized convenience stores during his work seemed "lost", notably those whose asylum claim has been rejected and who were in the legal challenge.

"They expended all their funds to travel to the UK, they had their refugee application refused and now they've forfeited everything."

The other reporter agrees that these individuals seemed desperate.

"If [they] state you're prohibited to work - but additionally [you]