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Imagine Yourself a Young Police Officer...
It's late at night. You're working the streets of San Jose, California. January 1981. A call from the dispatcher... It's urgent!! Situation unknown. The individual speaks no English.
You pull up to the location. You have no idea what's awaiting you. It's dark. In the shadows you see a man at the doorstep. He's waving his arms violently, screaming words you don't understand.
Is he the victim of a crime? Or, has he just committed a crime?
You have no idea! You yell for him to place his hands on his head and turn around. He just keeps screaming. You yell again. "Hands on your head! Turn around!" Nothing... He doesn't understand a word you're saying...
What do you do?
What you've just read happens every night in every major city in the U.S.
As, in this case, things can turn out alright. The man's young son was having problems breathing. With the policeman's help the child quickly got to the hospital and was taken care of.
But many times such situations do not turn out alright. And often the only reason things go so badly is that there is a language barrier. One that shouting cannot bridge.
Why tell you this story?
Because, on that particular evening... the language barrier happened to someone finally so sick and tired of these situations... he decided to do something about it! One year later, Language Line Services was born!
