Mekong patrols help ensure mariners' safety

The interpreter: Bao Yongcheng, 33

There are three things I never expected: that I would major in Laotian at university; that I would become a surveillance officer for the Yunnan Province Border Patrol Department; and that I would marry a woman who would later become my colleague. All those things happened within a 10-year stretch.

I was born in Kunming, Yunnan's capital, in 1986. I was raised in an ordinary family, and my parents did not get a good education, so they wanted me to study and attend university.

When I graduated from high school at age 18, I applied to the English Department at Minzu University, Yunnan. I wasn't accepted, but the school told me they could transfer me to the Laotian department if I still wanted to study at the university.

I did not have many choices, so I agreed. It was a little hard at the beginning because except for the language, I did not have any idea about Laos. I was pretty upset, but I knew I had to work hard, both for myself and my parents, as they had done a lot for me.

Four years later, I heard that the border police department was looking for a Laotian interpreter for one of their stations. So without the slightest hesitation, I applied and was accepted.

When I was working at the station, I met my wife who had also studied at Minzu University, majoring in Thai. We clicked because we share many of the same hobbies and often exchange ideas about language.

Laotian and Thai are pretty similar, so sometimes we talk in those languages.

I worked at the station for four years until the murders on the Mekong in 2011. After that, I was assigned as a translator to a ship that was participating in joint patrols on the river.

I have taken part in more than 30 patrols. I experience an enormous sense of achievement every time, because I can talk with policemen from Laos and solve problems caused by the language barrier.

I do not know where I would be and what I would be doing if I had not studied Laotian and worked for the border patrol department. More important, I do not know where I could find a girl like my wife. I feel grateful for everything I have achieved and experienced.