Bella Galhos

Bella was born in Timor-Leste in 1972. The Indonesian military invaded Timor-Leste when Bella was 3 years old. She lost her brothers, whilst her father was detained by the military. Bella herself was sold by her own father for a mere 5 dollars, and was later forcefully injected with a contraceptive drug by the Indonesian military, leaving her unable to have children. Aged 16, Bella joined the resistance, spending her adolescence fighting for her country’s liberation.

In 1991, many of Bella’s friends were killed or captured in the Santa Cruz massacre. Bella herself narrowly escaped death, and it was then that she realized that the only way she would be able to help her country would be to escape it. However, as a Timorese, Bella wouldn’t be allowed to leave the country. So instead, Bella plotted her escape, going undercover and enlisting in the Indonesian military, leading a double life for the next three years.

In a test of her loyalty, Bella was forced to endure all kinds of sexual and physical assault, but after three years she finally managed to persuade the Indonesian government to send her as a pro-Indonesia representative to Canada. Once safely there, she promptly defected and successfully claimed asylum. Twenty-two at the time, Bella spent the next six years raising awareness of the situation in Timor-Leste and supporting the resistance movement from Canada.

When Timor-Leste was finally liberated, Bella returned to work for a UN agency to take on the huge task of rebuilding her country from scratch. However, having been occupied for almost 5 centuries, Timor-Leste was in a grave state. In order to better understand the best way in which to lay the foundations for her country, Bella enrolled at the University of Hawaii to study Psychology. On her return to Timor-Leste, Bella became an Advisor to the President. Whilst maintaining this position, she managed to focus a huge amount of energy and her own personal funds on establishing the Leublora Green School.