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In the book "The Kiterunner", when referring to Sanaubar leaving Ali and Hassan, the narrator say's, "None of us has seen Sanaubar since she eloped with a group of singers and dancers in 1964, just after she had given birth to Hassan."(184)
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In the book "The Kiterunner", the narrator describes the circustsances in which Hassan was born, stating, "It was in that small shack that Hassan's mother, Sanaubar, gave birth to him one cold winter day in 1964."(6). Since Ali lived in the same house as Baba, Hassan was born in the shack in the backyard of the house. The the fact that Baba and Ali lived for so long together, demonstrates how close Amir and Hassan are.
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In the book "The Kiterunner", while Afghan king is in Italy, Daoud Khan, who has resented his exclusion from power, takes over the government. The narrator states, "Kabul awoke the next morning to find that monarchy was a thing of the past."(36). This demonstrates how the balance of power in the government changes over the years. First Dauod Khan, then the Soviets, and then the Taliban.
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In the book "The Kiterunner", the summer Amir turns thirteen is the next to last summer of peace in Afghanistan. The narrator specifically say's, "I turned thirteen that summer of 1976, Afghanistans next to last summer of peace and anonymits."(81)The summer of 1977, political assasinations, massive anti-government demonstrations, and arrests of leftist leaders occur. This reflects how the major changes to the government affected the citizens of Afghanistan.
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In the book "The Kiterunner", the Soviet's interfere with Afghanistan, realizing it's geographic strategic importance. "The end, the official end, would come first in April 1978 with the communist coup deta't, and then in December 1979, when the Russian tanks would roll into the very same streets where Hassan and I played..."(36)This reinforces the fact that Afghanistan is very vulnerable to attack and plays a strategic role in the Middle East.
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The New York Times quotes, "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on December 27, 1979, to assist Babrak Karman, who had become president in a coup within the Afghan Communist leadership"
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In the book "The Kiterunner", the narrator describes the international community's response the Soviet Union taking over Afghanistan. "In 1980, when we were still in Kabul, the U.S said it would be boycotting the Olympic games in Moscow."(110)The U.S. specifically was unhappy with the fact that the Soviet Union had control of Afghanistan. Even if other countries were againt the Soviet Union's presence in Afghanistan, it had no impact on the situation, until the Soviet Union itself was destroyed.
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In the book "The Kiterunner", Amir had to adapt to an American lifestyle and so he attended an American public school. The narrator quotes, "That summer of 1983, I graduated from high school at the age of twenty, by far the oldest senerior tossing his mortarboard on the football field that day."(131)Although it was a tough transition for both Amir and Baba, overtime, they adapted. Baba and Amir learned English and intermingled in the American society.
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In the book "The Kiterunner", Baba introduces Amir to General Taheri saying, "'Amir, this is General Sahib, Mr.Iqbal Taheri. He was decorated general in Kabul. He worked for the Ministry of Defense."(138)Several Afghan families escaped Afghanistan and fleed to America. The fact that they had a strong community of Afghans in the Bay Area demonstrates how close Afghans are to eachother.
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"There were a lot of reasons why I went to Hazarajat to find Hassan in 1986. The biggest one, Allah forgive me, was that I was lonely."(178). This proves that Amir went to find Hassan not because he felt bad for what he did and wanted to atone, but because he was lonely. Furthermore, Rahim Khan asked him to come to the Middle East in the first place.
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The New York Times quotes, "After 1986, the Soviet Air Force was also rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft
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In the book "The Kiterunner", the narrator describes what Amir's novel is about, saying, "In the summer of 1988, about six months before the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, I finished my first novel, a father-son story set in Kabul, written mostly with the typewriter the general had given me."(182)After majoring in writing in San Jose State, Amir finally writes a novel. The fact that the book is set in Kabul, demonstrates that Amir still hasn't forgotten about Afghanistan.
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The New York Times quotes, "Eventually, after peace talks moderated by the United Nations, the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989, in what was in effect a unilateral withdrawal."
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In the book "The Kiterunner", Amir publishes his book a year later after he wrote the novel, proving his commitement to being a writer. The narrator say's, "The novel was released in that summer of the following year, 1989, and the publisher sent me on a five-city book tour."(160)
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In the book "The Kiterunner", Farzana, Hassan's wife, becomes pregant again with Sohrab. The narrator say's, "In early 1990, Farzana became pregnant again."(183)
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The New York Times quotes, "After the Sovet forces departed, Afghanistan descended into vicious internecine strife; by the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms."
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The New York Times quotes, "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east."
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The New York Times quotes, "As early as 1994, Pakistani intelligence officers began funneling arms, money, and supplies to Mullah Omar's men, as well as military advisers to help guide them in battle."
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The New York Times quotes, "Buyoed by Pakistani aid, the Taliban by 1996 had taken control of Afghanistan, imposing strict enforcement of fundamentalist Islamic law, banning movies and music and forcing women out of schools and into all-enveloping burqa clothing."
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The New York Times quotes, "The Taliban also provided a haven for Mr.bin Laden, who arrived by a charterd jet at Jalalabad Airport in May 1996, and for Al Qaeda."
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In the book "The Kiterunner", the Taliban act on their idea of cleanliness and massacre all the Hazara's in one town. The narrator say's, "And two years later, in 1998, they masssacred the Hazaras of Mazar-i-sharif."(187)This proves to what extend the Taluban will act to stick by their morals and ethics. Furthermore, explains the extent of the Pashtun hatred towards the Hazaras.
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In the book "The Kiterunner", Amir finally arrives with Sohrab to America, at last atoneing for not doing anything when Hassan was being violated by Assef. The narrator say's, "We arrived home about seven months ago, on a warm day in August 2001. Soraya picked us up from the airport."(312)Although Amir was not willing to atone for his guilt before Rahim called him, as Amir grew closer with Sohrab, Amir became increasingly dedicated to saving and helping Sohrab, and in a way, helping Hassan.
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The New York Times quotes, "After the attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11th, 2001, President George W. Bush gave the Talbian an ultimatum to hand over Mr. Bin Laden."
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The New York Times quotes, "In December 2001, Hamid Karzai, a supporter and relative of Mohammed 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."
