 In 1978, Alves and her husband were arrested in the mountains and taken to Metinaro for interrogation.They were released after about sixteen days, and sent to Dili, where Alves worked as a civil servant in the Indonesian Industry and Trade Authority from 1983-1999.In 1997, she co-founded the women's rights organization Forum for Communication for East Timorese Women (FOKUPERS),  and campaigned for independence in the run-up to the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum.