COMMENTARY
Fulbright program a 'weapon' of peace
By Caroline A. Matano Yang
Since the tragic attacks of Sept. 11, President Bush has repeatedly emphasized that the war on terrorism will take many years and must be fought on multiple fronts.
Advertiser library photo • 1990
The Fulbright Program, which was born out of another war over half a century ago, has proven to be one of the most effective "weap-ons" to promote mutual understanding and respect between the United States and other nations. Germany and Japan, bitter adversaries in World War II, this year are celebrating 50th anniversaries of their Fulbright Program.
At the end of World War II, Sen. J. William Fulbright introduced legislation to create the Fulbright student-exchange program.
More recently, the Fulbright Program was initiated in Vietnam even before the establishment of formal diplomatic relations. If we expect to have the same level of mutual trust, respect, and friendship with the Islamic world as we now enjoy with these countries, a much greater investment in the Fulbright Program is necessary.
April 9 would have been the 97th birthday of Sen. J. William Fulbright, who introduced the Fulbright Act in Congress shortly after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan. The act called for a mutual exchange of students and scholars and was Fulbright's response to the devastation of two world wars and his own experience as a Rhodes Scholar to England.
Fulbright believed that "educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations. Man's capacity for decent behavior seems to vary directly with his perception of others as individual humans with human motives and feelings, whereas his capacity for barbarism seems related to his perception of an adversary in abstract terms, as the embodiment, that is, of some evil design or ideology."
Sept. 11 clearly demonstrated the huge perception gap between the United States and the Islamic world. This country lacked the expertise in language and culture that was needed to better understand the Islamic world, and the Islamic world's perception of American society and values was largely based on television images of our popular culture.
Following the tragedy, many former Fulbright grantees from the Islamic world wrote testimonials about how their Fulbright experience had changed their perceptions of America.
One, Mamoun Fandy, wrote in the Washington Post on Jan. 20 that his Fulbright grant was one of the influences that saved him from the path of fundamentalism as the son of a working-class family in southern Egypt whose parents were illiterate and survived as weavers of cloth. His Fulbright grant was the start of his journey from southern Egypt to a professorship in the United States.
His is only one of hundreds and thousands whose lives have been transformed by their Fulbright experience. Besides the many alumni who have been CEOs, editors and writers, judges, and artists in all fields, there are 27 who have gone on to become Nobel laureates; 38 Pulitzer Prize winners; 15 Mac-Arthur Foundation genius award recipients; and 12 who have been recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Thirteen current foreign ambassadors to the United States are alumni of the Fulbright Program, three are current heads of state and six are current ministers of foreign affairs.
Perhaps greater than the impact of these "stars," however, is the impact that thousands of professors and teachers have had on their students in the 140 countries that participate in the program.
For the academic year 2000-01, there were approximately 2,000 U.S. grantees and 5,500 foreign grantees distributed throughout the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Hawai'i sent five citizens abroad and hosted nine foreign grantees. The Fulbright Program is based on the principles of individual merit, open competition, and a transparent selection process and has remained relevant through the years because it is based on binationalism or joint partnership with participating countries.
The presidentially appointed 12-member J. William Fulbright Board oversees the program and has the final responsibility to approve all grantees. The program is primarily funded by an annual appropriation from Congress, which covers approximately 72 percent of program costs with 28 percent from foreign sources including 37 governments, the private sector, and in-kind support. Foreign and American universities also provide indirect support such as tuition waivers, salary supplements to scholars, housing and other benefits.
In January of this year, President Bush said, "Our response to terrorism is not just military, and not just law enforcement. It must also be reflected in a renewed determination as a society to support tolerance, openness, and the free exchange of ideas. In this sense, the attacks of 11 September have given Fulbright renewed meaning."
Yes, a strong military with hi-tech weapons and homeland security are essential in the war on terrorism, but equally if not more essential in the long run is to fight the war through peaceful means — its weapons are greater understanding, its soldiers are scholars and students, and its legacy can be peace.
Caroline A. Matano Yang, born and raised in Hawai'i, was appointed to the Fulbright Board by President Clinton in 1995 and is serving her third term through 2003. She became chairwoman in December 2001. Prior to her return to Hawai'i in 1997, she directed the Fulbright Program between Japan and the United States for more than 20 years.
