At age 16 , Galhos joined the Timorese independence movement , through its " clandestine front " of young activists . In 1991 , several friends of Galhos were killed in the Santa Cruz massacre , organized by her uncle Constâncio Pinto . As a result , she lived for three years under a different identity as a double agent ostensibly working with the Indonesian authorities . In 1994 she was selected as an exchange student to go to university in Canada with CUSO . There she applied for asylum immediately . After East Timor 's independence , Galhos studied psychology at the University of Hawaii
Santa Cruz massacre
Santa Cruz massacre
Bella Galhos