Dear Fulbrighters and Friends,
We share your dismay with the return of warfare to the European continent. The tragic and violent attack on Ukraine is a moment of action, and a moment of reflection.
As we watch the images from Ukraine—children huddled in subways, destroyed buildings, and attacking helicopters—we must send resources where they are needed. I urge you to use this NPR article to find organizations such as the International Red Cross, Nova Ukraine, and Save the Children to receive your financial support today. Doctors without Borders, one of the recipients of the Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, is at work in Ukraine and deserves your help.
This is also a moment to reflect on our commitment to keep the Fulbright Program strong and relevant. When conflict erupts, we should ask if we could have done more, as citizen diplomats, to prevent it. We are not naïve. Peace is hard to build and maintain, and it can be destroyed easily by hatred, resentment, and autocratic leadership.
So what can we do? We can have faith that ordinary people like you and me can make a difference in most cases and in many places worldwide. We can continue to work as hard as we can to advocate, educate, and serve. When the world seems to have gone mad, as it has now, we can keep trying.
As a community, we condemn the attack on the Ukrainian people, and we deplore the loss of life and wanton destruction. We agree with President Jimmy Carter, another Fulbright Prize Laureate, who said today that the US and its allies “must stand with the people of Ukraine in support of their right to peace, security, and self-determination.”
May Fulbright alumni continue to be catalysts for a more peaceful world.
Yours,
John Bader, Executive Director
Fulbright Association
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this statement included a claim that the conflict in Ukraine ends 75 years of peace in Europe. That is not accurate. Since World War II, Europeans have suffered armed violence repeatedly, such as the war and genocide in the Balkans, and have been the victims of many terrorist attacks. We regret the error and appreciate Association members who asked for this correction.