Hello. My name is Kevin and I've been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Whinging is my middle name, and this blog posting will probably demonstrate why. I have decided to 'come out' and write this because I have realised that there still massive prejudices and taboos in this world against mental illness. The phrase covers such a broad range of things, yet it evokes emotions in so many of the worst kind of disease possible. It is as if, ticking a form on a box saying you have a physical impairment causes people to immediately assume that you must have Ebola, without considering the possibility that you stubbed your little toe when you were 5 and the hairline fracture never healed properly, causing you a small amount of pain whenever you walk. Taboos in today's society which despite all the efforts of some great people and organisations around the world, still result in a massive amount of unbelievable discrimination. Given the statistics, I know there will be a few people reading this post who will at some point in their lives be in a similar situation to me, and I hope that they will learn from my mistake.

Depending on which statistic you see, mental illness affects somewhere around 20% of the population at some point in their lives (some stats indicate this figure is as high as 33%). But those numbers are immaterial. The key thing being, it affects many people I love, and it has affected me. As a result of this, I have been in the past, and still am today, discriminated against. No matter how many people rightly say that mental illness is "just another disease" and shouldn't be treated differently to any physical disease, it still is. The average person, and the average authority is scared of it and doesn't know how to deal with it. People do not understand it. Why it is easier for people to understand leukemia than depression, I have no idea. Neither are visible to the naked eye, yet for some reason, the 'physical' explanation is a lto easier for many to swallow.


I know that in personal relationships, honesty is always the best policy, but all of us are confronted by other situations where overt honesty leads to difficulties. Everyone in life has countless experiences of this, and I have had many small ones (take the example of admitting to being an asthmatic when wanting to SCUBA dive - I always achieve my goal in the end, but with a lot more effort and costs).


A dream of mine, since the age of 14 (or rather, THE dream of mine, when I was 14), has been to return to Israel. The place that provided me with the happiest 3 1/2 years of my childhood, and the place where I have always had a feeling of being home in. So here I am now, going through the process with the Jewish Agency, the agency which has been mandated to process people according to the Law of Return (which states that ever Jew has the right to come to Israel as an oleh, where an 'oleh' is defined as 'a Jew immigrating to Israel'). You would think that someone who has lived there before, legally, as an immigrant, wouldn't have any problems trying to go back there. Well, you're wrong. Firstly, I do not fit into the standard category of immigrant. I fit into the category of a returning minor (katin chozer) because I have lived there previously, but left prior to the age of 14. Just to complicate things, I do not have Israeli citizenship, yet most people who would have done what I did as a child and followed the standard process, would have.

I start off by filling in various forms online, where I proudly provide stupid amounts of information - as if I am obtaining a Top Secret security clearance (yet, I accept this - I want Israel to be a safe and secure country for me). Everything is filled in honestly. Naturally, in preparation for Israeli bureaucracy there are long delays when dealing with the agency electronically, and every email is signed by a different person - never does the same person in the office write to me more than once. The next step is an interview with a shaliach, a representative of the agency. Naturally, there is not one in Denmark so I wait for the Swedish one to be in town. The interview is straightforward, yet a little pointless in my humble opinion. Nothing really substantive is asked of me. So I proceed to the next stage, providing originals of various documents I was previously told I only had to provide electronically. Of course, this means digging through boxes in Australia to find them. Which I do. I arrive at the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen with dozens of documents, yet only two are now required. OK. Better safe than sorry.

A little more back and forth and I'm told that everything is OK. Next step, my file gets submitted to the Absorbtion Ministry. Despite being told I will hear back in a maximum of 3 weeks, after 5 weeks I establish contact to find out what is going on. Turns out I am required to attend another interview. Natrually, every email from me has a series of of questions, and in general, the return emails (which arrive anywhere from 2-5 days later if I'm lucky, or sometimes never) do not answer my questions. Why? When? How? Where?

I discover there are two exceptions to the Law of Return:

1. If the person is engaged in an activity directed against the Jewish people.
2. If the person is likely to endanger public health or the security of the State. 

So far, there have been no claims against me that I have engaged in any activities directed against the Jewish people. All indications are that exception number 2 is being investigated.

Of course there is no shaliach in Senegal (my place of residence until the end of September), and the bureaucracy of the high tech Israeli society does not accept telephone or Skpye interviews. The need for the interview? I'm a 'special case'. I have a history of mental illness. In reality, I am a special case because I was honest. This is the crux of the matter. I didn't lie and now I pay the price for it. They don't care about my history of headaches, asthma, or the fact that I have had 3 scaphoid fractures. They wouldn't care if I frequently got the flu. I have been diagnosed with a mental disease which I have had under control for most of my life, and although I have provided a certified doctor's letter attesting to the fact that it is 100% under control, my biggest mistake was, admitting to it in the first places. Now, I am a special case. I need to be interviewed again, because no one thought of asking me questions about it first time around. And no, I will not be interviewed by a health expert, but by some person who knows nothing about me and has no expertise in the matter at hand.

After the interview, my case will be resubmitted to the Special Committee on Discrimination Against Normal People (no, that's not really what they are called). This will take up to 14 working days (yeah right) and then the visa will take up to 2 weeks after that for it to be issued.

• Will the interview affect my illegibility? It shouldn't, I'm told. Unless I pose a threat to public health. Seriously!?! We are talking about Israel here and you are worried about me, someone who has decided to be honest about his situation posting a threat to public health? What about the real problems?
• Why do I need the interview? Because the matter wasn't discussed at my first interview (and who's fault is that?!?!)
• What are my alternatives? Well, I can pay $1,500 to travel to South Africa and have an interview there. I can wait until I return to Australia and then hope for smooth sailing if I already have plans to migrate shortly after arriving in Australia. Alternatively, I can make my own way to Israel, and attempt a 'change of status' when there.

If the Jewish Agency is stuck in the 18th century, linking any form of mental illness to 'crazy axe murderer', why wasn't this discussed with me when they had the opportunity? Why not do your job properly?

I generally apply lessons learnt to my professional life. But here it needs to apply to my personal life:

1. Overt honesty is something to be careful of. I classified myself using a label - but I could just as easily as classified myself using a different label. It was my choice and I felt the need to be overly cautious. I needn't have been. Typically, you know more and understand your situation better than authorities - no one knows you better. Sometimes you may be discriminated against for no valid reason. Whether  in the form of paying almost $500 in medical fees to keep your pilot license, or whether it's simply being given a hard time to fullfill your dream. Be honest to your loved ones. Be careful with those who do not understand or know you.
2. Unlike the mission statement, the express purpose of The Jewish Agency is to make things hard when it comes to moving to Israel. I was hoping to to be welcomed with open arms, not to have to fight my way into the country!

I am seriously disappointed that a country I love is doing what it can to discriminate against me. I am even more disappointed that a representative agency of a modern country such as Israel has such archaic views in linking the broad category of mental illness to the possibility that a person could be a danger to society. I knew there was bureaucracy and I knew things wouldn't be easy, but if there ever was a life lesson I have had, this is it. Israel - if you are trying to get me to hate your guts, you're making a good start.

To anyone else wanting to make Aliya... You understand yourself better than other people. Do not be stupid like me and answer 'yes' to questions which result in you having to do extra work, wait longer, or complicate things in any other way. Think. Be careful. Understand.