News Agency
A pair of Kurdish-background men consented to go undercover to expose a network behind illegal commercial establishments because the wrongdoers are negatively affecting the image of Kurds in the UK, they state.
The pair, who we are calling Saman and Ali, are Kurdish-origin journalists who have both resided legally in the United Kingdom for a long time.
The team found that a Kurdish-linked criminal operation was managing convenience stores, hair salons and car washes throughout the UK, and wanted to learn more about how it operated and who was involved.
Armed with secret cameras, Saman and Ali posed as Kurdish asylum seekers with no authorization to be employed, attempting to buy and run a mini-mart from which to sell unlawful tobacco products and vapes.
The investigators were able to discover how simple it is for a person in these circumstances to start and manage a business on the High Street in plain sight. Those participating, we discovered, compensate Kurds who have UK residency to legally establish the operations in their identities, helping to deceive the authorities.
Ali and Saman also succeeded to discreetly record one of those at the centre of the network, who claimed that he could remove government penalties of up to sixty thousand pounds faced those using unauthorized laborers.
"Personally sought to contribute in exposing these unlawful practices [...] to loudly proclaim that they don't characterize Kurdish people," states one reporter, a ex- asylum seeker himself. The reporter entered the United Kingdom without authorization, having escaped from Kurdistan - a area that straddles the boundaries of multiple Middle Eastern countries but which is not officially recognized as a country - because his life was at danger.
The investigators acknowledge that disagreements over unauthorized immigration are significant in the United Kingdom and say they have both been anxious that the probe could worsen tensions.
But Ali states that the illegal working "harms the whole Kurdish population" and he considers compelled to "expose it [the criminal network] out into public view".
Furthermore, the journalist mentions he was worried the reporting could be exploited by the far-right.
He states this especially struck him when he realized that far-right campaigner a prominent activist's national unity protest was happening in London on one of the Saturdays and Sundays he was operating secretly. Banners and flags could be spotted at the rally, displaying "we demand our country back".
Both journalists have both been observing online reaction to the investigation from within the Kurdish-origin population and explain it has sparked intense anger for some. One social media post they observed said: "In what way can we find and track [the undercover reporters] to attack them like animals!"
Another demanded their families in the Kurdish region to be harmed.
They have also read allegations that they were informants for the UK authorities, and traitors to other Kurds. "We are not informants, and we have no desire of damaging the Kurdish population," Saman says. "Our aim is to reveal those who have damaged its reputation. Both journalists are honored of our Kurdish-origin heritage and deeply concerned about the actions of such individuals."
Most of those seeking refugee status say they are fleeing politically motivated oppression, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the a refugee support organization, a charity that assists asylum seekers and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom.
This was the situation for our undercover journalist one investigator, who, when he first arrived to the United Kingdom, struggled for many years. He explains he had to survive on under twenty pounds a week while his refugee application was reviewed.
Asylum seekers now are provided about forty-nine pounds a per week - or £9.95 if they are in shelter which offers food, according to government guidance.
"Realistically stating, this is not adequate to maintain a dignified existence," explains the expert from the the organization.
Because refugee applicants are mostly restricted from employment, he feels many are vulnerable to being manipulated and are essentially "compelled to work in the black economy for as little as £3 per hour".
A representative for the government department said: "We are unapologetic for denying refugee applicants the authorization to be employed - doing so would generate an reason for people to come to the UK without authorization."
Asylum cases can take years to be resolved with almost a 33% taking more than one year, according to official statistics from the late March this year.
Saman explains working illegally in a car wash, barbershop or mini-mart would have been extremely easy to achieve, but he explained to us he would never have engaged in that.
Nevertheless, he explains that those he interviewed laboring in unauthorized mini-marts during his research seemed "confused", particularly those whose refugee application has been denied and who were in the appeals process.
"They used their entire funds to migrate to the UK, they had their asylum refused and now they've forfeited their entire investment."
The other reporter concurs that these people seemed hopeless.
"If [they] state you're forbidden to work - but additionally [you]
