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Back to the filesSECURITY FILE 005 - THE WAITING ROOM
The Waiting Room
Location: Refugee Village - Social Office
Shift: Day
Incident: Aggressive behavior and attempt to incite a fight
People usually think security work is all about physical force.
Most of the time, it’s about patience.
It was a busy day shift at the social office inside the refugee village. Outside the entrance, about 100 people were standing in line, waiting for their turn to get a ticket at the door. The process was simple: get your ticket, head inside, take a seat in the waiting room, and wait until your number pops up on the screen with a beep.
Simple on paper. But when you have a crowd of a hundred stressed people waiting in the heat, the air is always thin.
My colleague and I were stationed right at the entrance, managing the queue and letting people inside one by one.
Behind us, standing a few steps back, was another team member. Now, this colleague isn't someone you easily overlook. He’s a massive guy, a professional title fighter, and one of the calmest people on the team.
Apparently, someone in line had a problem with that.
As I was letting people through, I noticed a guy in the crowd staring intently past me. He was locking eyes with my colleague. Turns out they’d had words the day before, and the guy clearly had a point to prove.
Maybe he wanted to show the crowd he wasn't intimidated by a giant. Maybe he just wanted to prove a point to security.
Either way, he was making it obvious. Standing in line, he kept staring at my colleague while slapping his fists together—a clear, visual promise that he was ready to go.
My colleague didn't take the bait. He just stayed chill, relaxed, and let us do our job.
When the guy finally reached the front of the line, I held him up for a second. "Wait here."
I grabbed his ticket, handed it to him, and allowed him inside.
He stepped into the waiting room, but instead of sitting down, he stayed on his feet, pacing back and forth—two-stepping around like he was in a boxing ring, still trying to keep the tension high.
"Take a seat," I told him, pointing toward the chairs.
That was the spark.
The second the words left my mouth, he cracked.
"I WON'T SIT DOWN!" he exploded, throwing his hands up. "FUCK SECURITY!"
He started pointing aggressively at my colleague behind me, yelling at the top of his lungs, and stepped directly into my personal space. His body language made it clear he was trying to provoke a reaction, waiting for one of us to swing so he could turn the waiting room into a arena.
I’m usually calm, but when someone comes that close yelling in your face, the adrenaline spikes fast.
"Sit down," I told him again, leaning in, my voice firm. "Just like everyone else."
He didn't care. He kept pacing, shouting in his own language, trying to pull the whole waiting room into his drama.
At that point, I’d had enough of the game.
I looked him dead in the eye and said, "You know what? Keep standing. Because as of right now, you’re not sitting in a chair in this building anymore. You stand right there until your number is called."
The room was tense. Everyone was watching.
Before things could escalate any further, one of the social workers stepped out from the inner offices. Hearing the noise, he immediately recognized the language the guy was shouting in and stepped in between us.
The social worker took over, speaking to him calmly in his native language, de-escalating the energy second by second.
You could see the fight drain out of the guy. The audience was gone, the adrenaline faded, and reality kicked in.
A few minutes later, after finishing his talk with the social worker, the man walked back over to where we were standing.
The aggression was completely gone.
"Sorry," he said quietly, looking down. "I'm sorry."
He turned around and walked away to wait for his turn in silence.
In security, everyone expects the big clash—the moment where you have to go hands-on. But most days, the real skill isn't knowing how to fight.
It’s knowing how to stand your ground, keep your head, and let the guy who wants a spectacle realize he’s the only one performing.
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