BBCTwo Kurdish men have agreed to go undercover for the BBC and expose a network of illegal high street businesses because criminals are causing harm to Kurds in the UK, they say.
The two, whom we call Saman and Ali, are Kurdish journalists who have both been living legally in the UK for many years.
The BBC has discovered that a Kurd Crime Network runs in Mini-Marts, Barbershops and Kark the length of Britain, and wants to know more about how it operates and who operates it.
Equipped with secret cameras, Saman and Ali who are looking for Kurdish Asylum looking for those who do not have the right to work, see the mini-mart from where To sell illegal cigarettes and cuts.
They were able to open how easy it was For someone in these circumstances to build and run a business on the high street in plain sight. Those involved, we learn, are paying Kurds with UK citizenship to register businesses in their names, helping to fool the authorities.
Saman and Ali were also able to secretly film one of the centers of the network, claiming that he could eliminate the fines of the government up to those who use those who use illegal workers.
“I want to play a role in opening up illegal activities […] To speak out loud they don’t represent us,” said Saman, a former asylum seeker himself.
The journalists acknowledged that tensions over illegal immigration were high in the UK and said they were both concerned that the investigation could stifle further investigation.
But Ali said that illegal labor “destroys the entire Kurdish Community” and he felt compelled to “bring it [the criminal network] from the broad daylight”.
In fact, Ali said he was concerned about the coverage the far right would get.
He said it hit him hard when he learned that right-wing activist Tommy Robinson’s Merger of Kingdom Marts happening in London on one of the weekends that he works undercover for the BBC. Placards and flags can be seen at the rally, reading “we want back to our country”.
Saman and Ali both monitored the social media reaction to the BBC investigation from within the Kurdish community and said it had sparked deep anger for some. A comment on Facebook they saw said: “How do we know and find [the undercover reporters] kill them like dogs! “
The one who called for their families in Kurdistan to be slaughtered.
They also read accusations that they were spies for the British government, and traitors to fellow Kurds. “We are not spies, and we have no intention of harming the Kurdish community,” Saman said. “Our goal is to put those who have been damaged in its reputation. We are proud of our Kurdala identity and are deeply concerned by the actions of such people.”
Ali also said he also had a positive reaction, praising and defending journalists for exposing wrongdoing and criminality.
He said that some young Kurdish men in the UK have heard that they can make money by selling illegal cigarettes.
Reaction to our investigationSecretary Shabana Mahmood said on Tuesday that these types of networks “create an incentive for people to come here illegally”. An “urgent review” has now been launched at the Home Office, it has been confirmed.
Ali stressed that a small percentage of UK-based Kurds are involved: “Maybe a minority of the community is involved in this bad business – harming the whole community.”
It is difficult to establish the exact size of the Kurdish population in the UK – official records are more about nationality than ethnicity. The Kurdish Community Center in Hringey, London, suggests there are slightly more than 500,000.
Most asylum seekers say they are fleeing political persecution, according to Ibrahim Avicil from the cultural chapters of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.
This is the case for our undercover reporter Saman, who, when he first arrived in the UK, struggled for years. He said he had to live on less than £20 a week while his asylum claim was being considered.
Asylum seekers are now receiving about £49 a week – or £9.95 if they are in accommodation that provides food, according to home office guidance.
“Realistically speaking, it is not enough to maintain a dignified life,” said Mr Avicil from Rwca.
Because asylum seekers are largely prevented from working, he feels that many are openly exploited and effectively work in the illegal market for as little as £3 an hour”.
A spokesman for the home office said: “We make no apologies for not giving asylum seekers an incentive to do so for people to come to the UK illegally.”
Asylum cases can take a year to be resolved with almost a third taking more than 12 months, according to government figures from the end of March this year.
Saman said working illegally at a car wash, Barbershop or Mini-Mart would be easy to do, but he told us he couldn’t do that.
However, he said those he met at the illegal mini-marts in his work with the BBC investigation seemed to have asylum claims.
“They used all their money to come to the UK, they refused their asylum and now it’s all gone.”
Ali agreed that these people seemed desperate.
“If [they] Say you are not allowed to work – but again [you] Don’t pay enough to live – what should you do? Most people in this situation have either. “
But they also point out that there are people they expose to the criminal network who don’t need it – they seem to be motivated by expediency.
Shaxawan – A Kurdish man revealed to be a key fixer in the network – drives a BMW, he points out.
“He just wants to get richer and more exploitative. He takes advantage of people who are put in a vulnerable position.”
Saman describes these people as “shameless and cruel” who take advantage of the system, and says that “many of the people are smart and can find loopholes.
But he is at pains to stress that there is a sense of “honor, kindness, and hospitality” in the Kurdand Community. He worries that “now the image of the Kurds in Britain is changing and becoming negative”.
He said: “I want to show the true image of the Kurds and clearly we are not involved in illegal activities.”