Last Tuesday an Australian friend (I guess I should start saying 'mate' by now) sent an email on my behalf to a politician in Melbourne, regarding the issue of intersexual and similar people who leave their country due to intolerance and persecution for their condition. With this politician also being intersexual my hope was that I could get some help or advice from this side as well. What I didn't know was whether I would get a response at all, or if I did, how long it would take and what the contents would be. My only experience with politicians regarding this issue has been with Dutch politicians, which as described before has ranged from near- to complete disinterest, so while I had some hope my expectations weren't that high.
Naturally I was aware that Australia is a lot more considerate and aware of sexual diversity in its attitude and laws, and for crying out loud, the politician receiving the message is quite like me. Still, I had no real idea of what to expect.
A few hours ago I received an email from the friend... sorry, mate who sent the email with news about the response he had received from the politician. Not only did this politician inquire about more details, a reference was also provided to a professor at a local hospital. Only took about four days. Not bad. And the response itself was far beyond what I could have imagined. The follow-up from our side is now to provide the requested details, mainly about my case. I'm quite thrilled to see how this will develop from now on.
In other news, I'm awaiting news on a job in Sydney and got a very real job offer waiting for me in Newcastle. With a bit of luck I'll get to choose between jobs next week and begin to make final arrangements for my move to Australia. A slight sticking point in this is Dutch bureaucracy: my beautician has called my insurance company a number of times about the price quote they demand for approving full coverage for electrolysis treatment, but each time the person who supposedly handles such things wasn't present. It's silly because first of all such a price quote is impossible as treatment duration differs per person and is unpredictable, and because they don't have the right person available on this special phone number during office hours, and second it's silly because everyone who qualifies has to go through this futile routine.
What I should get once this request is approved is close to 4,000 Euro, which I have saved up over the past three years. Not that I'm financially in such a tight spot, but it would give me some more breathing space with such a big change in my life coming up.
Maya
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