Damned Nations

A Critical Book Review of “Dammed Nation” Your Name Subject and Section Professor’s Name January 19, 2024 Page 1: Introduction and Book Summary The book Samantha Nutt's "Dammed Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid" explores the world of intersection between armed conflict, global child rights, and humanitarian aid. Samantha Nutt was born on June 20, 1969, is a Canadian and known as a physician and an author (Our Founder, Samantha Nutt, n.d.). Her book argues that short-term geopolitical interests often overshadow the long-term consequences for local populations, particularly children who bear the brunt of the violence. These factors affect each other directly or indirectly and, in the process, make things worse or better. The author of the book is the founder of War Child Canada, an organization that helps minimize the long-term losses of children who suffer from war and conflict by offering them safe and consistent access to good education to help them in their future lives. Because of Nutt's expertise in and experience in the conflict zone, she has analyzed the complex issues surrounding war and their impact on children through her book. In Nutt's book, it can be highlighted that war between countries greatly affects the lives of its citizens because of their brute force and nature. While these countries are fighting each other like huge elephants, they are trampling ants during their fight, and these ants represent children's and normal people's lives. "Damned Nations" is a powerful and comprehensive exploration of the intricate web of issues surrounding armed conflicts, greed, and humanitarian efforts. Nutt's expertise, combined with her passionate advocacy for child rights, makes this book a compelling read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of global conflicts and the urgent need for a more compassionate and sustainable approach to addressing them. Page 2-3: The author's thesis revolves around the interconnectedness of greed, humanitarian effort, and armed conflict. Although the book shows how these factors affect the masses, it has a certain focus on children as they are the future of a country. As Nutt argues the thesis of her book, she uses real-world examples and case studies to support her claim further. Children caught in the middle of war will most likely miss school, which can happen for years; they may continue until they have grown enough that they begin to not fit in their grade level. When that happens, they will most likely skip school and work due to the situation of their environment. She argues that education is the solution in order to tackle the problem at its roots; children of war will then be adults, and these adults will bear children and will most likely inherit their parents' values and beliefs. Humanitarian efforts are also present in her books in order to help people who are caught in the war. These humanitarian efforts allow some of the victims of the war to gain access to education and also to have better nutrition. Without advancements in women's education, aid is squandered. High percentages of female illiteracy in places like Afghanistan and Somalia, where girls' education is frequently viewed as incompatible with social and religious standards, impede even the most successful humanitarian efforts. This shows that even though there is an effort on humanitarian efforts to give education to civilians, religion and social norms make it harder for these women to have the proper education that they deserve. Alongside this help from different countries, especially Canada, the organization that Nutt f...