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Cholera Outbreak
While thinking about his relationship to Kabul, Amir thinks, “This was the soil on which my great-grandfather… [died] in the cholera epidemic that hit Kabul in 1915” (240). The Cholera epidemic spread through food and water, indicated how Kabul wasn’t sanitary in the early 1900’s. Also, Amir’s family has been living in Afghanistan since 1915, showing how his ancestry and culture was born there. -
Baba was born along with Ali being adopted by Baba's father
While Amir describes his family history he says, “Baba was born… [two brothers] struck and killed a Hazara husband and wife… as for the orphan, my grandfather adopted him into his own household… That boy was Ali” (24). Amir’s family history shows the importance of Ali to Baba. This reveals how without the adoption of Ali, Baba and Amir would have lived different lives. -
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King Zahir Shah begins his 40 year reign
In 1933, Baba was born, which was also the year “Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan” (24). Zahir Shah was a Pashtun who ruled Afghanistan for 40 years, until 1973 when his cousin takes over. This shows how only the upper class people came into power in Afghanistan. -
Mohammad Daoud Khan, Zahir Shah's counsin, takes control of Afghanistan
In 1973 in Kabul, Afghanistan, Amir hears “something roared like thunder. The Earth shook a little and we heard a rat-a-tat-tat of gunfire” (35). The gunfire in 1973 was Mohammad Daoud Khan taking over his cousin’s monarchy. This was the ending mark of Zahir Shah’s reign. -
Hassan gets raped
While Assef is raping Hassan, Amir “turned away from the alley… I had one last chance to make a decision” (77). Instead of helping his loyal friend, Amir runs home, hoping that he can forget about the tragedy. This reveals Amir’s true characteristics as him being a selfish coward; he didn’t want to save Hassan because he was worried Assef would also hurt him. -
first Soviet Union troops invaded Afganistan
In 1981, as Amir is leaving Afghanistan, he thinks, “No grim-faced Russian soldiers patrolling the sidewalks…” (113). In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded in order to install a communist government so that Afghanistan would support the Soviet Union. Amir’s description of the Russians shows how people did not like or think of the Russians in a positive way. -
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Soviet Union takes over Afghanistan and fight the Mujahideen
For the next 10 years, The Soviet Union’s “tanks [rolled] up and down the streets of [Kabul]” (113). The Soviet Union fought the Mujahideen which was an anti-communist guerilla army with religious extremists controlling it. This shows how the Soviets had control over Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan. -
President Ronald Reagan was elected
In 1984, Amir is drinking coffee when he notices a sticker that says, “Reagan/Bush for ‘84 sticker” on the bumper of Baba’s car (138). In 1984, Ronald Reagan was elected President. This shows how Baba favored Reagan because Reagan would supply weapons secretly to the Mujahideen to kick the Soviets out of Afghanistan. -
Amir meets Soraya at the flee market
After meeting Soraya Taheri in the flee market, Amir dreamily thinks, “Soraya Taheri. My Swap Meet Princess” (142). The meeting of Soraya changed Amir’s life because it was the first time he had ever thought about a girl in an affectionate way. This shows Amir’s decency and his respect towards women by him having feelings once towards a single woman. -
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Civil War for power in the Mujahideen
When the Russians leave Afghanistan in 1989, Amir says, “It should have been a time of glory for Afghans. Instead, the war raged on, this time between Afghans” (184). The people were terrified of the warlords because they would come to villages, take the women, or shoot down families. This shows how Amir is disappointed that Afghanistan finally removed the Russians, but now Afghans have another war to cope with. -
Pakistan (I.S.I.) provides weapons for the Taliban
The Taliban was not well-equipped to fight for power, so Pakistan funneled "arms, money, and supplies to Mullah Omar's men" in order for the Taliban to seize control of Afghanistan. -
Mullah Omar has nearly 12000 followers
During turmoil in the Afghanistan, Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader "had nearly 12,000 followers" because he would temporarily stop the violence in the villages (2). -
Osama Bin Laden arrives at Jalalabad Airport
Because bin Laden had similar Sharia law views to the Taliban, bin Laden was welcome to Afghanistan, in which the Taliban "provided a haven for Mr. bin Laden" (3). -
Taliban seized control of Afganistan
When Amir visits Rahim Khan in Afghanistan, Rahim speaks to Amir about when “[they] all celebrated in 1996 when the Taliban rolled in and out an end to the daily fighting” (213). At first, the Taliban was popular because they kicked the warlords out of Afghanistan, which temporarily ended violence. This reveals how the citizens supported the Taliban until they started enforcing strict Sharia Law. -
The Taliban banned kite fighting
The new authority of the Taliban made the people happy, yet “two weeks later [they] banned kite flying” (213). The banning of the kite flying impacted the Afghan society, due to it being one of the past times. This especially affected Amir because when he won the kite tournament, Baba finally began accepting Amir. -
Massacre of the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif
When the Taliban came into power, Rahim Khan was overjoyed because “There’s going to be peace”, yet “two years later, in 1998, [the Taliban] massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif” (213). Rahim Khan was happy that the Taliban was in power because they ended the civil war in Afghanistan. Yet, Rahim did not realize what this meant for the lower classes, such as the Hazaras. -
Attacks on World Trade Center
On a Tuesday morning, last September, “the Twin Towers came crumbling down and, overnight, the world changed” (362). The Twin Towers was a terrorist attack done by al Qaeda. This shows how even with Sohrab safely with Amir in the U.S., things don’t always get better. -
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Obama plans to keep forces in Afghanistan
Due to the attacks from al Qaeda, Obama "emphasizes the idea that the [U.S.] will have forces in [Afghanistan] until at least the end of 2014" (1). -
Hamid Karzai was named chairman of an interim government
The past king's relative, Hamid Karzai, was "named chairman of an interim government" in replacement of the defeated Taliban (3). -
Sohrab smiles for the first time
In March 2002, Amir teaches Sohrab how to fly a kite which results in “A smile. Lopsided. Hardly there. But there” (371). Ever since Sohrab moved to the U.S., he never smiled until this point. This shows that there will be a chance for Sohrab and Amir to move on, forgetting about the bad chapters in their lives. -
Hamid Karzai took office as an interim president
After the defeat of the Taliban, Hamid Karzai became a chairman of the interim government, but a year later he "took office as interim president in June 2002" (3). -
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Mr. Karzai is President
Karzai's popularity grew which resulted in the people electing him "to a five-year term as president in 2004" (3). -
General Petraeus takes charge of US Central Command
The Iraqian commander, General Petraeus, takes "charge of United States Central Command" (4). -
Obama plans to deploy 30,000 additional troops
In a speech Obama delivers in 2009, he "announces his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (4). -
President Obama removes General McCrystal
Due to contemptuous quotes from the general, Obama "removed Gen. McCrystal" from commanding and replaced him with Gen. Petraeus (4).