University of California Davis Fulbright Program
National Fulbright Program
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See Let Us Not Close the Door (Fulbright Letter on September 11th Tragedy)
See A message from Allan Goodman, President of the Institute of International Education (IIE), which administers the Fulbright Program.

Let Us Not Close the Door

(Fulbright Letter on September 11, 2001 Tragedy)

Below is a message from Dr. Patti McGill Peterson, executive director of
the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and vice president of the
Institute of International Education.

The tragic events of September 11 have had a profound impact on the United States of America. Shock, disbelief and sadness formed a wave of emotion that rolled through the American population. That gigantic wave touched many shores. Expressions of outrage and sympathy are pouring in from all over the world.

Amongst the many emotions is a growing sense of anger and a desire for revenge. We all want to see those responsible for these unspeakable acts of terrorism brought to justice. What we are struggling with is deciding who the enemy really is. We need to be cautious about striking out blindly at those who come from other cultures and countries as part of the venting of our anger.

Peace loving, decent people can be found in every corner of the world. Fanaticism is not owned by a single country or culture. The nobility of the response to the events of September 11 will be greatly diminished by lashing out at innocent people from Middle Eastern and South Asian countries or persons who appear to be from these places. Those of us who believe
deeply in the power of international exchange and education to provide the foundation for peace need to help remind Americans that these kinds of reactions are not appropriate and will denigrate all that we stand for in this difficult time that can show us at our best.

Another reaction that is beginning to emerge in some quarters is a desire for isolationism. While we need to consider how to make the United States secure in the face of terrorism, closing our doors to the rest of the world is not a viable response. This is no time to isolate ourselves. We need friends around the world and we need to continue our programs of international exchange and education. It is ignorance and a lack of understanding of one another that feeds hatred and fanaticism.

Those of us deeply engaged in international education have a special duty through the Fulbright Program to continue to build upon the foundation of mutual understanding that has characterized the program for the past 53 years. Senator William Fulbright's own words help us comprehend what is at stake. He noted that mankind's capacity for decent behavior seems to vary directly with our perception of others as individual humans with human
motives and feelings, whereas our capacity for barbarism seems related to our perception of an adversary in abstract terms. International
educational exchange, he said, is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point that we can learn to live in peace.

Like a phoenix from the ashes, Americans will rise to reclaim their
security and to rebuild their cities. In that process, we must never forget that we have many friends around the world who want to be part of our efforts to make the world a safer place and to build a global civil society.

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A message from Allan Goodman, President of the Institute of International Education (IIE), which administers the Fulbright Program.

IIE.Interactive: A Message from Allan E. Goodman

On Tuesday September 11th our world changed forever. Our hearts go out to the
families of the victims of the attacks on New York and Washington D.C.

A Message from Allan E. Goodman
President and CEO of the Institute of International Education

It is especially important at this juncture in history that we reaffirm the
importance of international education and development training in building
connections between people. Over the past days we have received countless
expressions of kindness from friends and colleagues around the world.
Students and alumni of every nationality and religious and political background
have expressed their shared sorrow and support, as well as their hope, as one
alumnus said, that "we may all stand together in solidarity with the voice of
reason and work together to spread peace."

What we do together contributes directly to making the world safer and
more secure. As Senator Fulbright observed, nothing does this better than
educational exchange because it "transforms nations into people and humanizes
international relations." This is clearly a time when such transforming effects will be
put to a very severe test.

Please let us know how your institution is handling this crisis. We would
like to share ideas and resources among the membership, to help international
education and development training professionals join together as a
community to fight hatred, spread tolerance, and support students here and abroad. We
would like to compile such messages on best practices so that they can help us
as we think about the role of international educational exchange and development
training in these difficult times. We are also interested in messages that
offer insight on what it is like to be an American student abroad and how
foreign students here have been affected.

Thank you.

IIE.Interactive, September 21, 2001
opyright 2001. volume 4. issue 29.
Institute of International Education
__________________________________________________

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Message from the Fulbright offices in New York
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