Laurie Levinger has found her training as a psychotherapist surprisingly helpful in her new passion photography as she works to uncover the untold stories of the Mayan people. Levinger's exhibit, currently showing at The Artful Things Underground Gallery in Lebanon, N.H., features 25 photographs of refugees of the Guatemalan Civil War and recounts their heart-wrenching experiences.
"I really wanted to bring awareness to what is happening in Guatemala right now," Levinger said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "I am very committed to bringing these peoples' stories back to the United States. We see news stories of suffering on the television or the Internet, but when I go there and see what is actually happening to the people, it's very poignant. It's powerful."
Levinger has not always been such an activist for the Guatemalan people she said she became interested in documenting their experiences just a few years ago when she spent time volunteering in the country.
"I really fell in love with the young people and their history," she said. "I knew I wanted to know more about their culture and I was surprised that they had never told their stories to anyone. It seemed like no one had ever asked them."
With the help of a translator, Levinger interviewed Guatemalan students, encouraging them to recount the violent events that shaped their lives. Some told stories of family members who went to work, never to return. Others told stories of playing in the underground tunnels where their families were hiding, not understanding why their parents were so terrified of soldiers who often killed Guatemalans of Mayan descent.
From these accounts came her book, "What War? Testimonies of Maya Survivors," which was released in the United States this summer.
Her photography exhibit, "The People of Bisan Guatemala," stemmed from her volunteer work with the Guatemalan Solidarity Project in March 2009. She also interviewed many of her subjects for the project.
"Even though I couldn't understand Ixil, their Maya language, I could understand their tone and emotions in their words," Levinger said. "You could tell that there had been tremendous suffering."
The exhibit is scheduled to hang in the Russo Gallery of the Haldeman Center from Oct. 12 to Oct. 30. Levinger will also give a reading from her book on campus in mid-October.
