No English - Cry

The Chinese guy from Fujian, China, couldn't understand why he could hear his wife's voice over the phone but couldn't talk to her. He had been trying to call home with a phone card for days. Other detainees in his tank did all they could to help him, but he didn't speak English. Crying was all he could do.

A deputy heard about the situation, so he came to me to see if I could help. I listened to the Chinese guy's dilemma and explained to him that his wife had to push "1" to accept the pre-paid call. He told me that his wife didn't understand English. I told him to write a letter home to give her the instruction to accept his call, which costed him $20 for 8 minutes. He said it was urgent that he talk to her and that the letter would take too long.

There was nothing more I could have done for him.
I felt helpless.