When her old friend from high school won a $55,000 Fulbright Program grant, Vanessa Downer wasn’t too surprised.

Charles Cange, who graduated from Sequim High School in 1998, will depart this month for Cairo, Egypt, where he’ll study Arabic for four months.

Then he’ll go in January to Kuwait to conduct interviews with the children of the first Persian Gulf War.

The Fulbright, created by Congress following World War II, aims to build understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

The Gulf War Kuwaitis, now young adults, are suffering from cancer, autism, asthma and post-traumatic stress at alarming rates, Cange said.

Health impacts

He’ll spend most of 2007 researching the 1991 war’s health impacts. He’s eager to start his work — and to connect with people.

“It’s really important to me to share my experience as an American with as many Arabs as I can,” he said in an e-mail from his home in Paris.

“Most Arabs detest the U.S., and they hate U.S. foreign policy.

“Unfortunately they have been indoctrinated since a young age to resent our way of living, as portrayed in popular media.

“I think that citizen diplomacy — meeting people one on one — can have a strong impact on young adults. They can then educate their friends, and maybe even eventually their families, about American values and culture.”

‘Lots of laughter’

Cange was always one to jump into the midst of situations, said Downer, who was a high school junior when Cange was a sophomore.

Downer added that Cange was a stellar student who was intensely interested in his science and health courses, while managing to take part in school plays and clubs.

“I remember lots of laughter and adventures in our early friendship,” she said.

In the Middle East, Cange wants to focus on young adults, since they experienced the war “through children’s eyes.”

“It has profound impacts on how they view the world,” Cange said, “not just their personal well-being, but also on their political views. At the same time, children are very resilient.

“Also, I would like to see how they respond to the new conflict in Iraq.”