Awards 2018

Ms Mirella Green

Nominated by The Hon Lauren Moss MLA

Seconded by Ms Lucy Gunner

Between 2004 - 2007, Mirella worked as a volunteer with Melaleuca Refugee Centre welcoming and assisting in the settlement of African refugee families in Darwin.

From 2006 until the present Mirella voluntarily tutors migrant and refugee students in English at the CDU one morning a week.

In 2010, Mirella became a founding member of DASSAN (Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network) and for the next 6 years spent many hours every week visiting and advocating for asylum seekers in detention in Darwin. Centres visited ranged from the Airport Lodge and the Northern Immigration Detention Centre (NIDC) near Berrimah, to Blayden and Wickham Point, Centres way out in the bush near Channel Island which she visited at least twice weekly.

The number of asylum seekers she has tried to support over the years would be many hundreds, from Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Somalia, Pakistan etc. Some were from Manus or Nauru, in Darwin for medical treatment. Some were children or even newborn.

Also in 2013, Mirella started the DASSAN regular weekly stall at Nightcliff Sunday Market which is still running.

For 5 years from early 2012 Mirella has welcomed a total of 5 asylum seekers to share her home in Brinkin. Four stateless Kurdish men and one young Iranian woman. Two of the Kurdish men, now interstate for work purposes, asked Mirella to be their foster Mum, and she regards them as beloved sons. There was quite a lot of media interest when the first two moved into her home, with interviews on ABC TV.