Working with the FAFG

You might think that after almost twenty years in Guatemala that I would've reached the "been there, done that" point. Or perhaps the "seen it all before" point. Or, at the very least, after nearly two decades, you might imagine that that I would have finally arrived at the "nothing new under the sun" point.

Nope, not yet. Not even close.

In fact, if anything, life in Guatemala just keeps becoming more and more interesting (or as I was tempted to write: interestinger and interestinger.)

Last November I made a fairly radical job switch from photojournalism to forensic photography. I was invited to join the remarkable ranks of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala. (Spanish: Fundación de Antropología Forense de Guatemala, FAFG.)

The FAFG is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that investigates human rights abuses that occurred during Guatemala's 36-year internal armed conflict. An estimated 200,000 victims, mostly indigenous Mayans, were killed during the conflict, and many were buried in clandestine mass graves.

Since 1992 the FAFG's archaeologists and anthropologists have labored to identify the human remains, record evidence for possible trials, and return the dead to surviving family members for reburial.

I am honored to serve as the FAFG's photographer. My brief time working with the Foundation has been inspiring, exhausting, challenging, eye-opening, heart-breaking, and life-changing.

Visit the FAFG website (Spanish).

Tags: Guatemala, FAFG, Forensic, Anthropology, photography