lost in translation

i have a one line document which needs to be translated from arabic to english on US soil. official translation needed.
cost: $150 dollars.
which means $10 PER LETTER.

what are these days we have arrived to? (translated unofficially but literally from Ziad's arabic song for free)

official translation my foot. what makes one translation more official than another anyway. is the translation world like haute couture - the more expensive it is the more coveted it becomes?

so they're the CHANEL's of translation as opposed to my common GAP words?

damn all bureaucracy to hell and back
and back

if i were an official translator i'd charge double for texts with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes and at least contribute to education

i would be the Hitler of official translation

and buy a mansion on the Spanish mediterranean after having helped africa and the third world of course

so i called the local translation office to ask about other less official options.
the conversation, me and her:
her: so there's noura, she works in the hospital, in dietary, and her number is so and so
me: ok, anyone else?
her: yes, there's mustafa ibn mustafa, very nice man
me: and what does mustafa do?
her: oh back in his own country he was a dentist...
me: and what does mustafa ibn mustafa do here?
her: uh, i think, uuuuuh, i think here he is a refugee
and that was the end of my search

$150 - mailed
desperate times call for desperate measures
and in these desperate times even language has been tossed, turned, and hung to dry on the free market...