Author's Note

It’s easy to feel at the mercy of violence in our world, whether personally affected, or agitated and numbed as we sift through the news, trying to sort truth from lies. I originally envisioned The War Hotel as a coffee-table book. I hoped it might add to needed conversations and welcome anyone who'd like to look at the impossible topic of war, as belonging to all of us.

I saw people far from war zones reading the news—entranced, distant and confused—as if it was all taking place in a different world. And in my experience in war zones, I learned from people that even when bombs were falling a few miles away from them, they felt that way still: “It wasn't here. It was in the next village”. All of us are trying to deal with everyday life in the midst of this - getting something to eat, worrying about the kids or ageing parents, caring for relationships and love, and for our communities. And there is also a longing in people to make a difference.

One way is to recognize how we participate in conflict, how we fall in the burning soup, how easily our emotions are manipulated by state terror tactics, as well as terrorism. The more we imagine violence has nothing to do with us, the more likely we are part of it.  I always remember a comment from a man in one of our post-war forums in the former Yugoslavia : “I had never realized until now that I was actually a part of creating the war.  Maybe I was afraid I'd just feel guilty. But, I don’t feel guilty. I feel responsible and know that I make a difference, in this moment and in this world.”

I enjoy hearing from people in different countries who are reading my book. This week I am in contact with an 87-year-old woman professor of sociology in the United States, and a young journalist in her twenties, in Russia. They inspire me.  Arlene Audergon, August 2006  

About the Author
Arlene Audergon PhD is a psychotherapist and conflict resolution
facilitator. She teaches Process Oriented Psychology in the UK and internationally, and her work has brought her to Croatia, Kosovo, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, South Africa, India, the UK, and the USA.

In a long-term post-war project in Croatia, supported by UNHCR, she co-facilitated forums on reconciliation and community building. Arlene is co-founder of CFOR, an organization for community forums on preventive and post-conflict issues, diversity and democracy building.

She lives in London, where she also works in theatre.