haiti: meeting rosman

While waiting for diesel at a petrol station (guarded by a uniformed guy with an AK-47...) on a highway in Port Au Prince, we were bypassed by people of all walks of life...I wanted to, but was hesitant, to begin photographing. When a slight, gentle-looking woman began walking toward me I called out the standard "Bonjour!" and she responded with a smile. She sat down on a short rock ledge and I joined her. I learned, through a halted exchange of sign language and clumsy Kreyol/French phrases, that her name was Rosman Exzama.

She could write her first name, but not her surname. She wore a simple white outfit, somewhat travel-worn, and walked slowly. I do not know how old she is.

Rosman did not speak English, and I did not speak French or Kreyol. When I asked her, holding up the camera and gesturing, if I could do her portrait, she beamed. It was the first time I realized how much can be communicated with a friendly expression.

I didn't know anything about her, but I felt there was a world of history in her eyes.