Looking back at my blog posts of the past month it seems incredible that so much has happened in such a short time. One point has been driven home quite sufficiently during this single, hectic month. This being that there is absolutely no way I could stay in the Netherlands. There's no recognition of or acknowledgement for people like me. It's even gone so far that my experiences of the past six and a half years can only be described by the term 'persecution'. Whether this persecution was intentional or a symptom of a wider problem with this country and its bureaucracy and government is beside the point. What matters is that it is the wrong place for a person like me.
Last week I took the decision after much consideration and consulting various friends and other knowledgeable contacts that I would be moving, permanently, away from the Netherlands and settle in Australia. Today I filed for a work visa. The expectation is that I'll be departing for Australia by August at the latest.
Why Australia? For one it has sexual diversity acknowledged in its laws, it's also very tolerant of people who are 'different', has an intersexuality movement, many clinics specializing in such conditions and even a politician who is intersexual and is fighting for the rights of intersexuals and such. The contrast with the Dutch politicians who prefer to pretend that there's no such thing as intersexuality and would rather that transsexuals and homosexuals didn't exist either.
People from outside Europe with whom I have talked about the difficulties I have encountered here in the Netherlands due to my medical condition have expressed shock and disbelief. The general assumption seems to be that the Netherlands is a beacon of tolerance and respect, while this couldn't be farther removed from the truth. With homosexuals regularly getting beaten up in cities like Amsterdam, and chased away in other places, transsexuals gone into hiding, and intersexuals nowhere to be seen (in the Netherlands and Germany combined I'm the only intersexual person with a website), it is more of a Hell hole than one could have imagined. I know that it has taken me a long time to finally acknowledge this truth, and it is with a saddened heart that I'll leave this country which I once considered to be my own forever behind me.
What awaits me in Australia? Assuming that my visa application gets approved without issues, I'll be arranging a job and a place to live during the coming months with the assistance from various friends and their contacts. So far things seem to be working out relatively smoothly there. Main concern the coming time will be to cover the financial side. My insurance company received a third request for full coverage of electrolysis therapy yesterday, this time using 'transsexuality' as the reason since 'intersexuality' is not in the list of known conditions the government provides. My current GP thought this was ridiculous as well, especially considering that it's technically the same thing in this case and there aren't that many applications.
Assuming this request gets approved I'll get over 4,000 Euro, which should help me finance the whole operation. I'll also be working more than ever on finishing up Nyanko's first PC videogame together with my esteemed colleague. Releasing this game before I migrate will increase my funds significantly, will give me some room in my schedule since the project will be finished, and above all I feel I have the obligation to my colleague since he has put his heart and soul into the game and the game engine and tools behind it. I'd be a horrible person if I would drop the project and only focus on my own happiness.
I could never be happy at the cost of others. This is also why I'm hoping that I'll get a lot of support in Australia, from the intersex movement and others, so that I'll soon find my own place. I have already contacted the Australian media in the hope that they have an interest in my story and reasons for coming to Australia. Others need to know what has happened the past 6.5 years. For theirs and my sake, as well as that of those like me. At least that way the years I have sacrificed will have had some purpose.
Maya
No comments:
Post a Comment