The bitter irony – that within minutes of making that promise, Rushdie himself was stabbed 10 times on stage – was revealed by the event’s co-ordinator, who was also injured in the attack. In his first press conference since Friday’s violence, Ralph Henry Reese — co-founder of a Pittsburgh project offering refuge to exiled writers known as City of Asylum — told the Guardian that shortly before they took the stage, they discussed expanding the program. across America. “I asked Salman if he would be willing to travel to promote the idea of sanctuary cities and grow them in the US,” Rees said. “Registered.” Rees said Rushdie, 75, was in high spirits when they arrived at the venue, the Chautauqua Foundation. The author’s previous work has attracted death threats for years. But, Rees said, “He was very optimistic in the green room, as it is.” They were eager to continue the debate about the importance of offering asylum to writers at risk when the event began, taking their places on stage at 10.45am. “We’re coming out minutes later on stage,” Reese said. “He wanted to talk about welcoming writers in exile into communities and how positive that is for everyone.” Then a man stepped onto the stage and rushed towards them. “It was a tragic irony in many ways,” Rees said. “The horror of it, all the layering of reality.” He continued: “Here was Rushdie who had already lived this, who had been speaking so courageously for many years, that he was going to speak about his experiences and the value of protecting writers, and now we have this extraordinary realization happening right in scene. It was so resonant because we have to defend exactly these values.” Chautauqua Institute where author Salman Rushdie was attacked, in New York, on Friday. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Rees declined to talk about what he saw or heard during the attempt on Rushdie’s life, saying he may have to testify in future legal proceedings. But he described the surreal feeling as the violence unfolded. “At first I thought it was someone who would make the worst joke in the world, a joke about what had happened in the past, not a real one,” Rees said. “Looking back, I guess I should never have thought of that given Salman’s life story. Then, obviously, it became very real.” Reese, during the stabbing of Rushdie, suffered facial injuries that required hospital treatment. He said his ailments were “quite significant, but nothing like what Salman suffered”. For 48 hours, Rees had no idea whether the novelist would live or die. It was revealed at the weekend that Rushdie had been stabbed ten times in the neck, one eye, the abdomen and the thigh. Reese awoke Sunday morning to a statement from Rushdie’s son, Zafar Rushdie, who said that although the writer was still in critical condition at a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, he had been taken off the ventilator and was able to speak a few words. “His usual sharp and provocative sense of humor remains intact,” said Zafar Rushdie. Rhys laughed heartily when he read these words, saying, “Glad Salman is on the mend. “Provocative humor” is quite him. If you can imagine living with such a threat hanging over your head for years, if you didn’t have a provocative sense of humor like him, I don’t know how you would cope and contribute so much to the pursuit of freedom of thought.” Rushdie has been subject to a fatwa calling for his death since 1989, when Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued it in the wake of the publication of the novel The Satanic Verses, which some Islamic leaders consider blasphemous. As a result, the Indian-born British-American novelist spent much of the next decade in hiding. In 1997, while under the deep protection of the British government, Rushdie gave a talk at the University of Pittsburgh at the invitation of the English writer Christopher Hitchens, who was on the faculty at the time. Rees attended and heard Rushdie talk about the critical value of helping endangered writers. This inspired Rees to found City of Asylum. The group currently supports five exiled writers in the program, having converted several abandoned houses in Pittsburgh into shelters. Reese hopes Friday’s shock and awe will serve as a wake-up call — and a call to action — for people in America and beyond. He hopes that in the short term additional security will be provided to Rushdie “at least until they figure out what’s going on here and until he can express his own wishes.” In the long run he hopes that writers around the world will continue to create in Rushdie’s spirit. “A spirit of fearlessness and being true to yourself – don’t be intimidated, if nothing else you should be refreshed by what we’ve just been through and challenge you not to let yourself down,” Rees added. For himself, Rees plans to go ahead and redouble his efforts to provide homes for writers at risk. He quotes an advocate whose mantra is that joy is an act of resistance. “At the end of the day,” Rees said, “this should inspire us all.”
