Hungry boys ambushed Canadian physician Samantha Nutt’s car as she waited for the gate to open so that she could leave Liberia’s transit centre for child soldiers. The car rocked. A boy climbed onto the roof. Others pounded on the hood.
As her driver began to pull away, a young boy leaned toward her window and said he would rape her and set her on fire if she were to return to the centre without money.
That was one of Nutt’s milder memories from her 15-plus years as a medical doctor for children and women in war zones—between roles as a staff physician at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Toronto.
Nutt went to some of the most violent corners of the world—such as Iraq, Congo, and Darfur, Sudan—to give medical assistance to battered women and children. While she has seen resources marred by red tape and humans inflicting indescribable horrors on one another, she has never given up hope in human goodness.
“Amidst conflict it’s easy to become cynical or self-absorbed,” she said. “But I believe in our capacity to help and support one another.”
Still, there were many times her conviction was tested. In Somalia, she faced a meandering line of women holding sick infants. But many were already dead.
Such experiences may grate on aid workers and make them doubt the effectiveness of their line of work. Witnessing such scenes may cause them to lose hope in humanity’s ability to ever absolve its crimes. Steadfast, however, Nutt sticks to her conviction: never stop trying.
“After grief there are people who wrap themselves in isolation and self-righteousness, and there are those who take action,” she said. “I try my best to do the latter.”
Through her experiences in war zones, Nutt has not only seen the brutality of modern conflict, but also what sustains it and what people can do to prevent it.
In her book, “Damned Nations,” she provides a critical analysis of the inefficiencies of many non-profits, as well-developed nations’ investments in selling weapons to the very regions where peacekeepers are sent.
For instance, she has investigated how teachers’ pension funds of Canada and New York State are invested in the arms trade.
Such criticism may result in some political doors closing, but Nutt doesn’t mind.
“You have to confront the truth,” she said. “If that means alienating people who would rather not know, I’m prepared to take that on.”
War Child: Born in Canada
To put her ideas into action, Nutt founded War Child in 1999, together with her husband Dr. Eric Hoskins.
The non-profit aims to rebuild post-conflict communities by working closely with local organizations, providing support for stable childhoods in order to break the cycle of violence.
War Child grew quickly from a one-room office to an award-winning international charity with a team of 20 based at the office headquarters in Little Italy, Toronto. The head office team provides support to over 200 staff members employed overseas, 95 percent of whom are locals.
Nutt also recently launched War Child USA in New York City. Canadian-born Peter Stringham, chairman and chief executive officer of Young & Rubicam Group, is the new founding chair of the War Child USA board.
Stringham noted that considering the many charities he has been involved in, he hasn’t seen anyone else be as productive with as little money as Nutt has. “She was really quite creative in finding ways to solve the issues that she saw,” he said.
Having asked Nutt how he could help, Stringham quickly found himself in his new role and set up an official War Child office at Young & Rubicam’s New York venue.
“When I saw Samantha doing what she’s doing I just feel like that’s what Canadians are supposed to do,” he said. “It makes you terribly proud as a Canadian. It really is a very traditional Canadian role to be out there trying to do the right thing in the world.”
Maintaining Integrity
And true to her Canadian roots, Nutt holds tightly to her convictions, ensuring War Child maintains its integrity and values wherever it goes.
“We are a small organization ... and we could be making a lot more money by not turning down donations from oil and mining companies,” Nutt said. “But we sincerely believe in a different model.”
One of the groups that War Child partners with is a grass-roots organization founded by Afghan women. Nutt said she wished to keep the group anonymous to protect its members’ safety.
The organization provides resources for thousands of illiterate, destitute women in Afghanistan, many of whom have sold at least one of their daughters to abusive men in order to feed the rest of their children.
The non-profit provides medical care, literacy training, and resources for the women to start their own market-based businesses such as wedding embroidery, food preservation, and beekeeping.
The organization also teaches illiterate women how to read in one year.
“I was surprised to find that three years later, after these women have left the program, 100 percent of their school-age daughters are still in school,” Nutt said.
“After the program, they see the value of literacy and that is very inspiring. The cycles are breaking.”
Learning From Trauma
But her years working in war zones has not come without a cost for Nutt. Even in North America, she cannot help but scan every room she enters. She cannot sit with her back to a door. Every time a hand reaches into a bag, she will notice.
There are times when she will wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. “You do wrestle with grief and melancholy,” she said. To this day, she cannot be around fireworks.
Still, perhaps in some ways, the trauma has brought her closer to people.
“I’ve known people who have lost all the people they love, and sometimes all in one violent instant,” Nutt said. “You learn to never lose sight of what is important. People, family, and love is more important than anything else.”
Nutt was recently named one of Canada’s 25 most influential figures by The Globe and Mail, the latest in a long list of awards and tributes. Time Magazine named her one of Canada’s Five Leading Activists, while the World Economic Forum recognized her as one of 200 young global leaders. In 2010 she was awarded the Order of Ontario and in 2011 she was appointed to the Order of Canada.
