Ron Haviv, who arrived in Haiti last week on assignment for People Magazine, has produced images of conflict and humanitarian crises worldwide for more than two decades. He is a co-founder of the photo agency VII and has published “Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal” (2000) and “Afghanistan: The Road to Kabul” (2002). He has received awards from World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International and the Overseas Press Club. He was interviewed Monday by James Estrin.

When were you in Haiti before?

I started coming to Haiti in 1990 and have spent many, many months here. I’ve been here at least 15 times, perhaps more.

Is it different this time?

Each time is a different experience. I usually am here due to some major force; perhaps an election, a coup, an invasion, a natural disaster. So they are all different.

But here in Port-au-Prince, the feeling in the first few days was something I had never experienced before, an overwhelming power of silence and submission.

Submission?

Submission to the forces around them. But I hoped it was temporary. And the resilience of the Haitian people that I have seen time and time again is beginning to resurface.

You referred to the Haitians’ resilience emerging. What have you seen that makes you say that?

It has appeared mostly in conversations with people on the street. Today, we had a conversation with a woman who is running an orphanage. She spoke of the concept of the “new Haiti.” A rebirth that will eclipse the old.

Could you describe the photo that you sent?

The image was taken perhaps a little more than 24 hours after the earthquake struck. Myself, Damon Winter of The Times and Tim Fadek of the Polaris agency went outside the hotel to see our surroundings. It was pitch black but — as Damon has already referred to — the sounds of singing filtered through the air.

We came across a small clinic. Outside the clinic lay some children who had died. In the courtyard of the building — with no help, medicine, food or supplies — were a number of people trying to sleep, despite their evident pain. It was a difficult scene in that there was no help and there wasn’t much any of us could do for them at that time. As I was photographing the woman, she reached out as if to ask us all for some help.

You’re shooting video at the same time as stills. Could you describe the experience?

I think this is an evolving form of communication. There are places where it can work well and others that it can’t. There are times when it seems to me that the moving image is perfect for an expression of feeling or to convey ideas, via audio and video.

Then, of course, there is the power of the still image that video can not supersede. The way our mind works and the way that we remember things, I think, will ensure that still photography will be a powerful tool of communication. It’s just a matter of finding the balance.

Is there anything else our readers should know about what’s going on in Haiti?

There is a lot going on in Haiti. Unfortunately, much of it still seems to be behind the scenes. Each day, the Haitians are asking, “Where is the help?” It is coming piece by piece. The search and rescue teams have been on the ground, but many other needed pieces have yet to arrive. It is a vacuum that has great potential for more trouble. One can only hope that patience will win out while logistics are played out.

You’ve been to practically every conflict and major natural calamity in the last 20 years. How do you do this anew? How can you do it again?

It’s an interesting question. I feel that over this time there have been many chapters in the history of humanity; most of them not pleasant and downright brutal on the innocents.

Each chapter doesn’t always lead to another but when looking back at it, you often see the recurring themes that have caused all this pain. I have always felt that my work as a photographer and that of my colleagues is always trying to change it, one step at a time.

Change it? Do I hear a little idealism?

To go and do it again, I only need to think that I can affect even one life for the better: by helping people understand, holding them accountable for their actions and using the work as a tool for education. How great would that be?

Great.

One last thing. People always say to me, “If you can’t change it all, why bother to change a little?”

How do you answer the question?

The answer is simple: How can you not bother to do it? Photography can’t change the world. But can have an effect.

Coverage of the Earthquake on Lens

Wednesday, Jan. 13: Behind the Scenes: There for the Quake. Before Tuesday, Tequila Minsky was known in Lower Manhattan as an enterprising freelancer. With her pictures from Haiti just after the quake, she engaged the world.