As residents of Luz de Tavira eagerly await the arrival of tug-of-love kidnap victim Maria Alice, newspaper reports reveal the nine-year-old has been deprived of schooling since she was snatched from her mother in September 2012.
In an exclusive story out this morning, Correio da Manhã quotes Maria Alice’s mother, Carla Evangelista, as saying: “As far as I know, my daughter did not go to any school.”
The youngster, who vanished during a holiday with her father, has been kept at an address in Liège, Belgium, where she was found earlier this week, hidden away in an attic with her paternal grandmother.
According to CM, it was the savings of this grandmother that have paid for the last two years, as Maria Alice’s father, Paulo Guiomar, has been unemployed since leaving Portugal with his daughter.
Guiomar, currently in police custody in Faro, faces a number of charges, including kidnap, disobeying the orders of Faro’s Family and Minors Court, and abandoning his duties as a Maritime Policeman.
Also facing charges are thought to be Guiomar’s parents, who allegedly were complicit in the abduction.
But for now, the biggest issue is Maria Alice’s immediate future.
Said her mother, even if she has to ‘go back’ to the second class at Luz da Tavira primary school, Carla Evangelista’s hope is that the little girl will be accepted back into her old school “as she still has many friends there” and “it is important that she is reintegrated so that she can return to a little of the reality that she had” before she was taken.
Former school chum Carolina Soares gave the idea her thumbs-up, telling CM: “Everyone at school misses her. We all hope Alice comes back here.”
In the meantime, in Belgium, psychological evaluations and other tests have been going on to ensure Maria Alice is ready to be returned to her mother.
As Wednesday came to a close, the close-knit community of Luz de Tavira was said to be buzzing with excitement, with everyone eagerly awaiting the little girl’s imminent return.
