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Zahir Shah begins his 40th year reigning Afghanistan
In the year of 1933, "Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan..."(Hosseini 24). During this time of year, also when Baba was born, people in Afghanistan started discriminating against Hazaras because of what Zahir Shah believed. The Hazaras began getting hurt and bullied because they did not belong with everyone else in Afghanistan -
Baba builds an orphanage
Rahim Khan explained to Amir how, "Baba had personaly funded the entire project, paying for the engineers, electricians, plumbers, and laboreres, not to mention the city officials whose "mustaches needed oiling"(Hosseini 13). Many people doubted Baba with his plan to build an orphanage and thought it was ridiculous since he had no experience. But, in the end Baba proved everyone wong and showed people he was capable of anything. The orphanage opened 3 years later when Amir was 8 years old -
Hassan is raped
In the alleyway where the rape occurred, "Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan's hips and lifted his bare buttocks"(Hosseini 75). Hassan clashes with Assef and his friends after the Kite Running race when he went back to fetch the kite. Since Hassan is a Hazara Assef treats him terribly and when Hassan does not listen to Assef, he ends up getting sexual harrassed by Assef. Amir is there watching but does not do anything to help Hassan out -
Khan publishes new constitution for Afghanistan
Soon after Khan becomes president, "Khan proposes a new constitution that grants women's rights and works to modernize the largely communist state" (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan). -
Period: to
Afghanistan from 1975 to 2001
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Soviet Union invades Afghanistan
Sadly people in, "Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Aghanistan, has known little peace since 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded"(New York Times 1). -
Amir and Baba move to America
America was always on Baba's mind and "Baba always loved the idea of America"(Hosseini 125). In the year of 1983 Amir and Baba moved to Fremont, California. They moved to America because Baba wanted Amir to have a better life so he sacrificed his life for Amir by moving to America. -
Amir and Soraya get married
Baba asks the General at the wedding, "that you honor Amir Jan and me, and accept my son into your family"(Hosseini 168). Baba is allowing Amir to get married to Soraya and it is almost setting a closure between Baba and Amir. The General accepts Baba and Amir into their family and Amir and Soraya have a traditional Afghan wedding -
Amir goes to find Hassan
Amir goes to find Hassan for many reasons but the biggest reason"...was that he was lonely"(Hosseini 203). A lot of Amir's friends and relatives were sadly killed or escaped when Kabul was under attack. Amir did not recognize anyone and he didn't even recognize his own city. This saddened him to the point where he wanted to go and search for his best friend, Hassan -
Baba passes away
When Soraya went to get Baba's medicine for him Baba denined and said, "there is no pain tonight"(Hosseini 173). At this point Baba was overall exhausted and did not want to be struggling anymore. So, he decided to stop the medicine and let god take him. This was a very emotional time for Amir but it made him want to do everything he can to make Amir proud -
Soviet Union leaves Afghanistan
After many years of chaos in Kabul, "Eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect an unilateral withdrawal"(New York Times 2). -
The Mujahideen invade Kabul
Sadly for the Afghans living in Kabul, "The Mujahadeen and other rebel groups, with the aid of turncoat government troops, storm the capital, Kabul, and oust Najibullah from power"(https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/asia-jan-june11-timeline-afghanistan). -
Sanabaur meets Hassan
When Sanaubar came to visit, "Hassan dropped her hand and bolted out of the house"(Hosseini 210). It was a shock when Sanaubar came back after she had fled many years ago. Hassan was overwhelmed and frustrated that she finally decided to come back to try and make up for it. This unexpected visit made Hassan feel a lot of emotions all at once -
Kabul belongs to Massed, Rabani, and the Mujahedin
After the Shorawi were defeated Massed, Rabani and Mujahedin took over Kabul. This caused a lot of violence in Kabul and was the start of a not so united town. Sadly, "The infighting between the factions was fierce and no one knew if they would live to see the end of the day"(Hosseini 212). All people in Kabul would hear was gunfires and falling shells and they would literally see men burying bodies. This was a very violent and scary time for people living in Kabul -
Taliban takes over Kabul
The Taliban a group against a people in Kabul took over the city and destroyed many buildings and sadly killed many people. Rahim Khan explains to Amir when he comes to visit that, "we all celebrated in 1996 when the Taliban rolled in..."(Hosseini 213). The Taliban came to control Afghanistan but it ended up causing more problems. This control caused a lot of violence in Kabul and made the city even more unorganized -
Taliban introduce new Islamic law
Devastatingly, "The Taliban seize control and introduce extreme Islamic law, banning women from work and using brutal punishments like stoning to death and amputations"( http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-06-02/timeline-afghanistans-turbulent-history/1702156). -
Hazaras are Massacred
Hazaras have always been treated very badly in Afghanistan because they are different from everyone else. In the Kite Runner Hassan is always bullied because he is a Hazara. The Taliban banned Kite Running, "And two weeks later, in 1998, they massacred the Hazaras in Mazar-i-Sharif"(Hosseini 213). The Taliban did not respect the Hazaras so they wanted every Hazara gone. Sadly thousands of Hazaras were killed that day because of the Taliban -
Hassan and Farzana are killed by the Taliban
The Taliban told Hassan to leave the house but Hassan refused to so the Taliban,"...shot him in the back of the head."(Hosseini 219). Hassan and Farzana were doing nothing wrong but since Hassan is a hazara the taiban did not respect him. Farzana came to try and stop the Taliban from shooting Hassan but the Taliban ended up shooting her too. -
United States Bombs Afghanistan
Not too long after the twin towers collapsed the United States went to Afghanistan and bombed many cities. After the bombing occurred, "The Northern Alliance moved in, and the Taliban scurried like rats into the caves"(Hosseini 362). Amir was very affected by this because when he was growing up he went to the cities that were bombed. The news spread to where Amir lived and he heard many people discussing what happened in Afghanistan and it made him feel hopeless -
Sohrab commits suicide
Since he tried to commit suicide, "Sohrab was under twenty-four-hour-a-day suicide watch"(Hosseini 351). Sohrab did not want to live anymore because he missed Hassan and Farzana so much and thought it wasn't worth living anymore. Amir was so scared and this big event caused Amir to start praying everyday and start celebrating every Afghan holiday because Sohrab was able to survive -
Twin Towers collapse
In the month of September America was attacked resulting in the twin towers in NewYork City collapsing. On the morning of September 11, "The Twin Towers came crumbling down and, overnight, the world changed"(Hosseini 362). After the attack on the U.S. Amir saw the American flag wherever he walked. The sudden attack really affected the U.S. in 2001 and it was shown throughout the whole country even where Amir lived. -
Hamid Karzai becomes king of Afghanistan
Soon after the 9/11 attacks on American, "In December 2001, Hamid Karzai, a supporter and relative of Mohommad Zahir Shah, the exiled former king of Afghanistan, was named chairman of an interim government that replaced the defeated Taliban, making him the leader of the country"(New York Times 3). -
Hamid Karzai becomes an interim president
Hamid had big plans and, "hoped to secure peace for Afghanistan and win the country much needed international aid"(New York Times 3). -
General Petraeus takes control of U.S. command
Being the mail leader of U.S. command General Petraues has a lot of, "responsibility for military operations in Iraq"(New York Times 4). -
Obama deploys troops
During a speech at WestPoint, "...Obama announced his plan to deploy 30,000 additional troops" (New York Times 4).