THE
OTHER HALF
meet Mila Rapoport
V
ERY few people find
a warm inner glow of happiness
at a sausage sizzle stall.
But Russian-born Mila Rapoport,
engaged to 3RAR officer CAPT
Braden Holmes (pictured), sees the
humble Aussie sausage sizzle as one
of the symbols of a life that was a
dream out of reach in St Petersburg.
For years, she yearned to emigrate,
to start a new life in a free and, just
as importantly, a warm, country.
Born in St Petersburg, she started
travelling when she was a teenager,
first to neighbouring Finland,
later, on a tour of Europe.
“I was quite young, but I realised the
people were not the same everywhere,
even just across the border in Finland, it
was a totally different world,” she said.
She realised how positive and engaging
people could be... it was empowering.
SEPTEMBER 2016 | 43