“War, and the pursuit of war, destroys us,” Samantha Nutt writes in her book, Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid. “It turns teenagers into killers, neighbours into genocidaires, and politicians into executioners. War is humanity at its most primitive, despite our attempts to dress it up, distance ourselves from it through technology, and frame it in acceptable terms—a battle for good in the face of tyranny or despotism or fanaticism. In the end, all wars are only one thing: people killing people.”
As executive director of War Child Canada, an organization she helped found in 1999, Nutt has spent much of the last two decades amidst the aftermath of some of the world’s worst atrocities. In her book, she relates stories of rape in the Congo, of starvation in Somalia, of child soldiers in Sudan, and military oppression in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But Nutt believes change is possible. By focusing on things like education, gender equality, violence reduction and rehabilitation, her goal with War Child is to help those affected and forgotten by war—particularly women and children—in areas of crisis and conflict. She is a sought-after voice for the media, and a popular public speaker, and as such, she will be the keynote speaker at the 2014 Presbyterian Women’s Gathering next May 16-19.
While I’ve yet to meet her in person, after speaking with Nutt on the phone on a warm July afternoon, I get the impression that she’s some sort of humanitarian Wonder Woman, tossing her golden lasso around to invoke truth-telling and expose dishonesty and injustice around the world. Her accolades—from the Order of Canada to being named one of Canada’s 25 most influential figures by the Globe and Mail—speak for themselves, but when, as any modern day heroine should, she minimizes her role in all of this, shifting the spotlight to the people in the field who do the work of the organization she founded, I’m sold.
“We exploit and benefit from wrongly, injustices in other parts of the world, in ways that we are often completely oblivious to—everything from cell phones, diamonds, precious metals, the economy of war and our pension funds that are highly invested in small arms and military companies. We can’t pretend that we don’t have a negative footprint in other parts of the world. We can’t look at a conflict like Congo and say this has nothing to do with me and only take care of our own. To do so is to contribute to human suffering in other parts of the world. … It comes down to, what are we prepared to uphold and defend?”
The road to her superhero status began at the family dinner table. It was an opinionated place, and she was taught by her Scottish- and English-immigrant parents “to strive and fight for what I believe in, and speak my mind.”
Nutt then spent much of her 43 years travelling, working and living abroad, beginning in South Africa as a very young child, then in Brazil as a teenager where friends she played soccer with by day slept in the park across from her house each night, (“I was 13 when that happened. It was the first time I really had the sense that there was a lot more going on in the world than I was exposed to back home”), then to university where she learned more about international policy and social justice issues.
But it was when she travelled to Baidoa, Somalia, in 1995 as a 20-something volunteer with UNICEF that Nutt realized what she was meant to do. Baidoa was then called “the city of death,” as 300,000 people had died of starvation and disease just three years prior. Nutt had recently completed her medical degree and was working on a master’s at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her specific interest was “what happens to women and girls when states fail,” and she went to Baidoa to assess maternal and child health as part of a national review of UNICEF’s aid work there.
“It’s impossible for anyone who comes so close to such conflict and sees such heartbreak and tragedy and injustice and the ways in which so much of what they’re experiencing—the death, the misery, the starvation—so much of it is avoidable,” said Nutt. “It was a difficult time in my life coming back from Somalia, but it’s one that led me onto this path to figure out what we could do to make a meaningful difference. You can see the opportunities to engage people and increase local opportunities and strengthen the grassroots, but these things are often not done, so I wondered, how can we do this better?”
In addition to her work with War Child, Nutt has a day job. She’s a family physician at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. Her husband, Eric Hoskins, is Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. Together, they have an eight-year-old son, Rhys. While having a child has changed her ability to just “get up and go,” the danger she faces when travelling overseas does not deter her.
“There have been times when I’ve really felt that the risks are too great. Things that were too emotionally overwhelming and difficult,” confided Nutt, like when her friend, Margaret Hassan, a 30-year veteran of humanitarian work in Iraq as director of CARE International, was kidnapped, held for ransom, and executed.
“And then I had my son, and my motivations changed again. We all have reasons why we want to see the world evolve in a more peaceful and accepting and supportive way. He made me want to get up every day and face it.”
Rhys is proud of what his mom does, insisting he wear his War Child T-shirt at least once a week.
“As a parent, you want to expose your kids to help them become informed citizens, and so they understand their rights and responsibilities in that. But we don’t want to turn the world into a frightening place. It’s finding that balance,” said Nutt. “He knows my work is to help kids like him in other parts of the world who don’t have the opportunities he does. But I always frame it in the context of what does it mean to resolve conflict and listen to another person? And why it’s not okay to pick up a stick and pretend you’re shooting somebody. So, at least in our house, any time there is conflict, we use it as an opportunity to teach tolerance, understanding, mutual respect and listening. Those four things are extremely important.”
Teaching children—even kindergartners—some basics about international development and foreign aid may sound tricky, but Nutt insists it isn’t. Giving kids an awareness and basic understanding of the world around them—and that many children grow up amidst oppression and extreme challenges—is key in creating responsible, compassionate adults who care about the impact their actions can have on others.
“I think we often try to take huge strides, when it’s small steps that are required,” she said. “Maps are always important. For us, we use them to show where mom is going, or where we’re going. And the relation of that place to Canada. It gives them a sense of other people and places in the world. Also—and schools do this extra well—is sharing culture; having a potluck day, or anything related to culture. It gets them to talk about it. Things that celebrate differences as well, even something as simple as eye colour or hair colour. It teaches children that even though we may look different, we all have the same goals and hopes and dreams.”
She notes that while those things are important for early ages, as kids get older, they’re ready for more complex issues, things like democracy, good governance, human rights, social justice, and gender rights.
“For example, why is it difficult for girls to go to school in some places? And how does that relate to international law and foreign diplomacy, and how do we change the structure and paradigms, and the role of NGOs?
“Too often we are taught that social justice is an act of charity, but the problem with that is, one, it makes it an optional concern; something we can engage in or not, depending on if we’re feeling generous at that moment; and second, it’s not part of our society. It’s outside of society. I think that’s really quite unfortunate.”
In her book’s acknowledgements, Nutt thanks the courageous individuals—who are heroes in their own right—who shared their stories with her. But her gratitude goes beyond that, thanking them for the very thing that has kept her going during these past 15 years of humanitarian work.
Thank you, she says, “for teaching me that there is always hope, and that it is worth pursuing.”
Resources for Teaching Children
The PCC has numerous resources available either online or through the WMS Book Room to help Sunday school teachers, ministers and small groups educate young people in their congregations about global issues.
Presbyterian World Service & Development
The Church’s relief and development agency has a number of resources that can be used to teach kids about international development.
Two of the best are the SuperFriends! magazines, aimed at children ages seven to 14. Fun games and activities help kids learn about various social issues such as climate change and emergency relief.
PWS&D also holds an annual Sunday school challenge to encourage giving and education on a specific issue.
Justice Ministries
Advent Garden of Justice – Kairos Advent Resource for 2013
PCC partner KAIROS explores our relationship with the Earth and all who dwell in it in a new resource featuring worship materials and activity ideas—including ideas for Sunday school—about faith and justice issues and the Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and love. Available as both print and PDF in September.
Children’s Blanket Exercise
Kairos’ Blanket Exercise explores the 500-year relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people on Turtle Island (North America). The activity is participatory. A children’s version has been prepared and will be available in the fall of 2013.
Mission Studies
The Church also produces children’s and adult’s mission studies that can be ordered through the WMS Book Room.
The children’s studies look at issues of relief, development and justice, and usually highlight the work of PWS&D, International Ministries, Justice Ministries and Canadian Ministries. They are often used by Sunday school teachers, Vacation Bible Schools, and after-school programs.
The next children’s study, which will be released this fall, will look at healing and reconciliation issues.
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