Jean-Christophe Rufin

Between his fiction and his humanitarian work, Jean-Christophe Rufin has been just about everywhere – from the Philippines to the Balkans, Afghanistan to Rwanda. He’s worked as a doctor in Latin America, an ambassador in Senegal, and a human rights activist in Latin America. It’s fitting, then, that Rufin is one of the founders of Doctors Without Borders – an organisation designed to provide medical aid in developing or war-torn countries, regardless of race or religion.

Rufin is also a writer, with wide-ranging interests: he’s the author of everything from the ‘Rufin Report’ on anti-semitism in France, to swashbuckling historical adventure novels and a forthcoming memoir, The Santiago Pilgrimage, about his journey along the Way of St. James.

In conversation with Santilla Chingaipe, Rufin will talk about striking a balance between creativity, travel, diplomacy, and humanitarianism – and what drove him to embark upon an 800km journey to Santiago de Compostela by foot.