In his quest to cover human rights abuses, French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy has had to put himself into many dangerous situations.

'I don't sleep very well': Writer recounts career covering human rights abuses

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2021-10-27 17:00:19

In his quest to cover human rights abuses, French writer and philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy has had to put himself into many dangerous situations.

In Libya, he was called a "lady Jewish dog" while being shot at by gunmen. In Nigeria, he reported on people who were killed by Boko Haram and Fulani extremists. And on the Greek island of Lesbos, he watched as refugees lived and were treated like animals in what he described as "Hell on earth."

"Of course, I'm sometimes afraid, but I am more afraid of not doing my duty," he told The Current's Matt Galloway. "I am much more afraid not [being] faithful to the [morals] ... which I received from my peers, masters and father."

Lévy documented his experiences covering human rights abuses in his new book, The Will to See: Dispatches from a World of Misery and Hope, which was released today. Described as being part memoir and part manifesto, Lévy recounts the things he saw throughout his career that led him to advocacy.

He spoke to Galloway about some of the lessons he learned in his travels — and the importance of humanism and internationalism.