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Soviet Occupation
Russians had their own leader who had the Russian army, "Russian tanks can take any town and Russian planes can bomb even remote valleys into temporary submission" (Historyworld.net). http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=itc#ixzz4OcHJ6XXB -
Saur Revolution
In an article called, "The Saur Revolution: Prelude to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan," it talks about how the revolution started and who they were, "The government of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan came to a violent end in what was called the Saur Revolution when insurgent troops led by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan [PDPA] stormed his Kabul palace on April 27, 1978" (Baroody).
http://adst.org/2016/04/the-saur-revolution-prelude-to-the-soviet-invasion-of-afghanistan/ -
Soviet Invasion
The Soviet Union intervened in the war to, "support [the] Afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978–92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-February 1989."
https://www.britannica.com/event/Soviet-invasion-of-Afghanistan -
Hassan is Raped by Assef
After the kite tournament, Hassan goes to fetch Amir's kite but Amir saw, "Kamal and Wali holding Hassan down. Asset's button muscles clenching and unclenching, his hips thrusting back and forth" (Hosseini 116). -
Refugees Seek Shelter
All the fighting with Taliban, Soviets, and the United states caused, "The exodus of Afghans from their homeland during the domestic political upheavals in the 1970s and the ensuing occupation by the Soviet Union at Christmas 1979 made history as the largest refugee crisis in the world" (UNHCR). http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/research/working/4868daad2/afghan-refugees-pakistan-during-1980s-cold-war-politics-registration-practice.html -
Amir and Baba Leave Afghanistan
Many refugees left Afghanistan due to the war including Amir and Baba, "He was taking us to Jalalabad...his brother...was waiting to drive us the Khyber Pass and into Peshawar" (Hosseini 111). -
Mujahideen
In an article by BBC News, it describes the hate against the Soviets as, "Rebellions took place Mujahideen come together in Pakistan to form alliance against Soviet forces" (BBC) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12024253 -
Baba is Diagnosed With Cancer
Once in America, Baba and Amir go to the hospital after Baba is found coughing up blood, "Baba's [cancer] was called 'Oat Cell Carcinoma'. Advanced. Inoperable" (Hosseini 156) -
Amir and Soraya Get Engaged
After Baba is diagnosed with cancer, Amir asks his father to get Soraya's hand in marriage for him, "'I want you to ask General Taheri for his daughter's hand'" (Hosseini 160). -
Soraya Admits Her Past
Once Amir and Soraya are engaged, she tells Amir, "'I ran away with an Afghan man. I was eighteen at the time ... he was into drugs'" (Hosseini 164). -
U.S. Helps Mujahideen
The U.S. decided to help rebel forces defeat or drain the Soviets by, "supplying mujahideen with Stinger missiles, enabling them to shoot down Soviet helicopter gunship" (BBC). http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12024253 -
USSR Begins to Leave Afghanistan
The President of the Soviet Union, "Saw the Afghan intervention as an increasing drain on the Soviet economy, and the Russian people were tired of a war that many Westerners referred to as “Russia’s Vietnam” (History.com). http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-begin-withdrawal-from-afghanistan -
Sanaubar Comes Back to Hassan
While with Rahim Kahn, an old woman finds them and claims she is Hassan's mother, "You smiled coming out of me... she was home now, he said, home with her family" (Hosseini 210). -
Taliban Seize Control of Kabul
After the USSR pulled their troops out of Afghanistan, the Taliban took over Kabul and, "[introduced] hard-line version of Islam, banning women from work, and introducing Islamic punishments, which include stoning to death and amputations" (BBC). http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12024253 -
Rahim Kahn's Phone Call
One day, Amir receives a phone call from Rahim Kahn, "I lowered the phone into the cradled stared at it for a long time... Rahim Kahn is very sick" (Hosseini 190,191). -
Rahim Kahn and Amir Reunite
Amir arrives in Pakistan and goes to Rahim Kahn's apartment. They begin to catch up but Rahim begins to tell Amir the story of how Hassan and his wife were murdered, "Hassan protested....they took him to the street...order him to kneel...shot him in the back of the head....shot her too" (Hosseini 219). -
Amir Sets Out to Find Sohrab
Amir arrives at the orphanage and asks the orphanage director, "we're searching for this boy...please...I'm his half-uncle" (Hosseini 252) -
Amir Visits HIs Old House
On his way to set up a meeting with the Taleb who took Hassan, he stops by his old house, "I stood outside my father's house, feeling like a stranger.... I'd run through these same gates thousands of time" (Hosseini 261). -
Assef Reveals Himself to Amir
On his journey to get Sohrab, Amir meets with the man who took him and is shocked, "His name escaped my lips: 'Assef'" (Hosseini 281) -
The Fight
During their meeting, Assef decides they, "have some unfinished business, you and I... one of us will walk out of this room alive... if it's him, then he's earned his freedom and you let him pass....the slingshot made a thwiiiiit sound when Sohrab released the cup. Then Assef was screaming" (Hosseini 291). -
Al-Qaeda Attacks U.S.
Al-Qaeda had bases in Afghanistan. They were also allied with the Taliban, "19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States" (History.com). http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks -
Sohrab Tries to Kill Himself
Amir breaks the news to Sohrab that he may have to go back to an orphanage until he can get a visa. Sohrab sees his only option as killing himself, "stepped into the bathroom...screaming...my hands are stained with Hassan's blood... [don't] let them get stained with the blood of his boy too" (Hosseini 346). -
Amir Remembers His Past
In the Beginning of "The Kite Runner", Amir reflects and think about his past in Afghanistan, "I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. I thought of the life I lived until the winter of !975 came along and changed everything" (Hosseini 2). -
Afghanistan Ratifies a New Constitution
The new Constitution was agreed upon by more than 500 delegates who represented the Afgahns, "President Hamid Karzai has signed Afghanistan's new constitution into law, a document that gives him sweeping powers but exposed divisions when it was debated in a national assembly that concluded this month" (CNN). http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/01/26/afghan.law.reut/ -
Rahim Kahn Confesses on Behalf of Baba
In a letter delivered to Amir, Rahim Kahn says, "Your father was a man torn between two halves... you and Hassan. He loved you both, nut he could not love Hassan the way he longed to, openly, and as a father" (Hosseini 301).