Speak your language

How can a victim of crime be asked to pay for a translator when he or she makes a police report? This is a scandalous state of affairs which was brought to light by a letter to the editor this week. Now, I know times are hard and the government has been forced to make major spending cuts. During the summer months the police usually recruit translators but this year there was no budget. As a direct result if anyone requested a translator they would have to foot-the-bill themselves. Let us remember that we live on an island which lives from tourism. There are some services which are essential, and translators for tourists fall into this bracket. Being mugged or attacked is a terrible state of affairs and the police should ensure that reporting any incident is as stress free as possible.Another letter to the editor this week highlighted the fact that in Portugal the police provide translators free of charge who speak many languages. Majorca should do the same. We live on a fantastic island with a vibrant tourist industry but I think we need to get our act together and remember that the island does not have a god given right to receive millions of tourists every year. Majorca is facing plenty of competition from other holiday destinations across the Mediterranean. Here they ensure that tourists receive a warm welcome. They know how important tourists are, it is a sad state of affairs that in Majorca, tourists are sometimes forgotten.