Kite Runner and Afghanistan Historical Timeline

By cgalanter

  • Birth of Baba

    1933 is the year that Amir's father, "Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan, two brothers ... struck and killed a hazara husband and wife ... as for the orphan [Amir's] grandfather adopted him" (Hossein 24). This excerpt establishes the environment in which Baba was brought up in. It is significant because the car crash led to the relationship between Baba and Ali and as an extension Amir and Hassan.
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    Kite Runner and Afghanistan Historical Timeline

  • Sanaubar leaves to join a group of daners

    Rahim Khan was shocked Sanaubar came back because "none of [them] had seen Sanaubar since she eloped with a band of singers and dancers in 1964" (Hosseini 210). Sanaubar had been presumed dead, as she had been gone for so long and no one had seen her, so when she returned it was quite a surprise. This is significant because it is difficult to meet your mother when she wasn't there nearly all of your life.

  • Daoud Khan ends Zahir's 40 year reign

    Amir and Hassan were hearing sounds of duck hunting the night of July 17, 1973, but "As it turned out they hadn't shot much of anything the night of July 17, 1973. Kabul woke up the next morning to find ... the king Zahir Shah was away in Italy. In his absence, his cousin Daoud Shah ended his forty-year reign" (Hosseini 36). Amir and Hassan are witnessing regime change in Afghanistan. This is significant because that regime change is a warning sign of what to come in Afghanistan.

  • Hassan gets his harelip removed

    Amir was grateful when Hassan's surgery was done that "The surgery went well" (Hosseini 46). Hassan gets surgery done to remove his harelip. This surgery is one of the first signs that Baba and Hassan have more than just a master-servant relationship.

  • Amir plays a trick on Hassan

    When Amir and Hassan are children, "One day, in July 1974, I played another little trick on Hassan" (Hosseini 30). This quote shows one of the first times that Amir tricks Hassan through his higher literacy. This is significant because you can See Amir using his higher Socio-Economic Status to bully Hassan.

  • Hassan is raped

    Amir fled because he couldn't stand to watch Hassan get raped, but he could still hear "Assef's quick rhythmic grunts"(Hosseini 76). Amir hears Hassan in desperate need of help, and Amir turns his back and runs away. This is significant because Amir will live with the guilt of allowing Hassan to get raped for the rest of his life.

  • Ali and Hassan leaves

    After many months of Amir alienating Hassan, Ali finally tells Baba that "We're leaving Agha Sahib" (Hosseini 106). Hassan can't take the poor treatment from Amir anymore, Ali and Hassan leave for good. This is significant because Amir has to live the rest of his life with witnessing Hassan get raped on his conscious, and destroying the forty-year relationship between Baba and Ali.

  • Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan

    Prosperity and stability in Afghanistan ceased when "The first Soviet troops parachuted into Kabul on December 27, 1979" (New York TImes).

  • Amir and Baba are treated poorly in the USA

    When Baba used a check to pay for items at the local bookstore and the shopkeeper "Asked for an ID" (Hosseini 126). Baba is being asked for an ID, even though the store doesn't normally ask for identification. This illustrates how Baba is nothing in this new land, and people treat him as a poor immigrant.

  • Amir graduates from High School

    After Amir graduates from high-school, Baba tells him, "I am moftakhir, Amir, he said. Proud." (Hosseini 130). Baba is very proud of Amir for graduating from high-school in a new country, a wonderful feat. This is significant because it shows one of the few times where Baba is openly proud of Amir, something that Amir desired his entire childhood.

  • Soviet Air Force in Afghanistan made usesless

    The Soviet forces watching over Afghanistan weakened when in "1986, the Soviet Air Force was also rendered largely useless by advanced Stinger antiaircraft missiles supplied by the United States to the rebels."(New York Times)

  • Soviet Troops leave Afghanistan

    United Nations peace talks lead, "Soviet troops [to leave] Afghanistan in February 1989" (New York Times).

  • Power Vacuum after Soviet calapse

    After the departure of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan, it descended into chaos, and "By the summer of 1994, power was anarchically divided among competing warlords and individual fiefdoms."(New York Times).

  • Pakastani Aid to the Taliban

    Before the Taliban takeover, "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"(New York Times)

  • Mullah Omar gains following in Afghanistan

    Mullah Omar was making a name for himself, and "By the end of 1994 Mullah Omar had nearly 12,000 followers and was rolling up the warlords to the north and east" (New York Times)

  • Osama Bin Ladin arrives in Afghanistan

    The Taliban allowed Osama Bin Ladin refuge in Afghanistan, and he "Arrived by chartered jet in Jalalabad Airport in May, 1996" (New York Times).

  • Taliban seizes control of Afghanistan

    In 1996, "the extremist Islamic group that had seized control in 1996 after years of civil war." (New York Times).

  • Taliban kills mass amount of Hazaras

    Rahim Khan is telling Amir about how only two years into the Taliban's reign, "In 1998 they massacred the Hazaras" (Hosseini 213). The Taliban committed mass killings on the Hazaras after only being in power for two years. This is significant because while there had always been discrimination against Hazaras in Afghanistan, this bordered on genocide. It also must have been very hard for Hassan and his family to live through this.

  • 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan

    The attacks of 9/11 sparked, "The 2001 invasion succeeded in dislodging Al Qaeda and removing the Taliban from power"(New York Times).

  • Hassan's death

    Rahim Khan tells Amir that the Taliban rounded up Hassan and "shot him in the back of the head" (Hosseini 219). The Taliban killed Hassan just for being a Hazara. This is significant because, with Hassan's death, Amir was never able to apologize to what he did to Hassan.

  • Amir receives call from Rahim Khan

    After receiving a call from Rahim Khan, Amir says that "[He] has to go to Pakistan" (Hosseini 191). Amir feels obligated to go to Pakistan and meet with Rahim Khan. This is significant because growing up Rahim Khan was like a father to him, and he is one of the few remaining links to his childhood.

  • Amir learns that Hassan is his brother

    Rahim Khan tells Amir that Ali couldn't bear children, and Amir asks who the father of Hassan was, to which Rahim responds "I think you know who" (Hosseini 222). Rahim Khan is implying that Baba is the father of Hassan. This is significant because Amir finally realized Why Baba treated Hassan with so much pride.

  • Amir sees Kabul for the first time since he had moved to the USA

    When Amir sees Kabul he states that "Farid had warned me. He had. But, as it turned out, he had wasted his breath" (Hosseini 243).

    Amir is shocked at what has happened to the city of his childhood. This is significant because Amir's reaction illustrates how great of an effect war has had on Afghanistan.

  • Amir atones for his sin

    When being beaten up by Assef, Amir thinks to himself that, "For the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace." (Hosseini 289). Amir finally feels as though he has atoned for allowing Hassan to get raped all those years ago. This is significant because Amir has tried all his life to atone for it, and going back to his home country and being beaten by Hassan's rapist finally did it for him.

  • 9-11 Attacks on World Trade Center

    The US went to war against Afghanistan in "2001, when it led an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks by Al Qaeda" (New York Times )