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It is estimated that 100,000 died and a further 40,000 "disappeared," the toll of Guatemala's 30 year civil war. While exact records will never be found, groups such as The Foundation for Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology (EAFG), Amnesty International and others, struggle to catalog and quantify the murders by exhuming and inspecting mass graves.
It should be noted that much of this work continues in spite of death threats and harassment on the part of government officials. For security reasons, no EAFG members are identified by name. |
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In May of 2000,
at the invitation of Dr. Clyde Snow and the EAFG, I assisted in an
exhumation in the area of Lake Atitlan in the highlands of southwest
Guatemala. In spite of the past cruelty, the local people are gentle, kind
and generous.
The stories and background generated by these exhumations are the basis of my novel Grave Secrets. For more information, visit the Guatemala Links section.
Click on the thumbnails for a larger view.
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| villagers observing | with Clyde Snow |
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| with Clyde Snow and Roger Pyke | documentary film crew working with local translator |
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| Glam field dress | EAFG team member |
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| marked burials | marked burials |
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| Mayan women | village children |
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| analysis of victim at EAFG lab in Guatemala City | EAFG lab in Guatemala City |
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| with documentary film crew from Toronto | with EAFG team member |
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| villagers with documentary film crew | villagers observing excavation |
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| villagers outside FAFG temporary shelter | central woman had 13 family members in mass grave |
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| villagers observing screening of soil | skeletal analysis at EAFG headquarters in Guatemala City |
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| villagers observing screening of soil | villagers observing |
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| marked burials | |
