Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Kite Runner Fishbowl #5: Chapters 19 and 20


Hello, fishbowlers!


If you have questions about Afghanistan you'd like our long-distance friend, Rob, to answer, feel free to post them here, and he will respond to them tonight.


Also, I've posted a picture that Rob sent to us two years ago from Afghanistan.


You have the same two goals today, my friends:

(A) Bring at least one quotation into your responses.

(B) As an outer circle, we need to make sure that at least five different people get into the hotseats today.


Enjoy, and keep up your strong work!

105 comments:

  1. If Amir has one, what is his greatest fear.

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  2. zach h said...

    If Amir has one, what is his greatest fear.

    i think that it was relieving his past.

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  3. Zach H-
    I personal think that Amir greatest fear is to tell someone that he witnessed Hassan being raped.

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  4. Does the condition of Afghanistan represent anything? For example, the condition of Baba's house, the orphanage, the hotel, ect.

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  5. Zach h,

    I think Amir's biggest fear is being alone, and having no one to go to and be with.

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  6. I disagree greg, i think his greatest fear is that of the day in the alley.

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  7. Amir was afraid of having to tell Rahim Khan about how he did not help Hassan in the alley.

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  8. Zach H
    I think Amir's greatest fear is still his haunting memory of Hassan being raped.

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  9. Zach H-
    I think that amirs greatest fear is that trying to tell someone about seeing his best friend get raped. Hes held it in so long it has to come out at some point in his life to someone.

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  10. i feel like it wasnt worth their time just to beat up hassan they just wanted to kill him and get it over with,

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  11. I also agree with Logan E., because he is afraid to tell his wife what he saw and they have been married for 15 years and his wife came out clean and told him his secrets. So why can't Amir tell her his?

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  12. I agree with the inner circle's comments about Taliban killing Hassan there was no reason to shoot him he was a nice genuine person that did not deserve that.

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  13. Zach,

    I think that Afghanistan represents how much Amirs world has decayed around him, and is slowly slipping away from him as everything is etting old and he is losing so much.

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  14. Zach H-
    If Amir has one, what is his greatest fear.

    Amir's greatest fear is confronting Hassan about what happened or telling someone about what happened to Hassan. He never goes through this step in a hero's journey.

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  15. Colton,

    Are you talking of when Hassan got killed? Or when he was raped?

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  16. Zach said:If Amir has one, what is his greatest fear.

    Amir does not have a fear but he does have is the trait of being a coward. So you could say that he fears standing up for himself and standing up for his friends.

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  17. i disagree with blake because we have learned that amir could not stand up for himself, and if he couldnt help why would he.

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  18. Zach H-
    I feel that Amir's biggest fear is himself. He is a pleaser and because he is trying to make Baba love him then he uses bad judgment on many of the things that he does.

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  19. Logan-

    First of all Hassan was refusing to leave the house, so the taliban got mad at him. Also Hassan is a Hazara living in Baba's nice house. The taliban really don't care if he was a nice person.

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  20. Leclaire,
    I think that Amir would treat Hassan different if he knew that he was his half brother. He wouldn't ignore him, treat him bad, and he might of actually stood up for Hassan if something ad was happening to him because that are what brothers are suppose to do. Brothers are suppose to look after each other. So I think that Amir would treat Hassan different if he knew.

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  21. Zach H

    If Amir has one, what is his greatest fear

    I think Amir has a greatest fear is that him witnessing what have happened to Hassan in the ally way because it has haunted him for his whole life and he has never been able to talk to anyone about it

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  22. If Amir knew that they were brothers, do you think that he would have tried to stop Assef and his friends when he raped Hassan in the alley?

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  23. Outer circle: I like your focus on fear so far. Here are two suggestions:
    1. Remember that if you have questions about Afghanistan, post them here and address them to "Rob."
    2. Remember your professionalism, especially when when it comes to punctuation and capitalization.

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  24. I think if amir knew he was a half brother to hassan he would of tried to do something in the alley and their friendship would of been alot different. They would of seemed more like brothers than best friends.

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  25. I agree with Colton when he says, "I feel like it wasn't worth their time just to beat up Hassan they just wanted to kill him and get it over with" the Tali ban don't want to waste their time with worthless people so they just get it over with even though he did not deserve this.

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  26. Alec W-
    I disagree. I think Amir does have many fears. I think hes scared of disappointing the ones he love and of his own past.

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  27. Inner circle..


    The reason they shot Hassan was because he was Hazara, and he was living to much of a good life for a Hazara, and also the Taliban hated Hazaras, and like it said before in the book, they had massacred a whole Hazaran village and so they have true hatred for the Hazaras and that is why they killed Hassan and his wife.


    But do you wonder if they did not kill the kid as well? And where do you think the kid is?

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  28. i don't think amir is a true afghan he is not a patriot towards his country, he didnt stay for the war and ran away from everything.

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  29. How does the Taliban being in Afghanistan affect people now? Or are they just used to being controlled by radicals?

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  30. How will amir change since hassan is gone?

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  31. I think amirs biggest fear is standing up for himself or for someone he loves. He has never stood up for himself and now he has huge guilt build up through his whole life.

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  32. what if the Russians won the war and there was no taliban how would life be different there?

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  33. Rob-
    How much has Afghanistan changed over the past few years since America has been there?

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  34. Sean-

    Amir is not the one who beat Zaman up it was actually Farid

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  35. Rob,
    In chapter 19 of "The Kite Runner", It says that Farid has two wives. Do most Afghan men have more than one wife?

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  36. Yanni-
    I don't think that knowing that Hassan was a half brother would have changed the way that the scene in the alley happend because Amir was too much of a coward to stick up for him now matter how they are related.

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  37. Nick-
    I think since Hassan is gone Amir will change in a positive way it is like everyone in his family is gone so he will become someone in his life.

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  38. Nick,


    I think that Amir will feel bad about losing Hassan, and that he will mourn him, but it seems so far that learning of his death has not changed him at all.

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  39. -Kiely
    I don't think they killed Sohrab because Rahim told Amir that he was in an orphanage. Plus when Amir and Farid were at the orphanage, they guy told him that he was here, but the Taliban took him a month ago. What are the Taliban doing with the kids that they take?

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  41. Tommy,

    I agree with you about Amir because to him Hassan was already almost like a brother to him anyways and he still did not do anything.

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  42. Rob-

    Do you think if Amir knew that Hassan was his brother do you think that Amir would of done something different in the ally way, like stand up for Hassan or try to stop him from getting raped?

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  43. Nick C-

    How will amir change since hassan is gone?

    I think now that Hassan is dead, Amir can never tell him that he is sorry that he didn't help him in the alley way and now Amir never has the chance to say he is sorry.

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  44. Rob -

    How come the only people saving Afghanistan is doing it at their peoples expense?

    (The Taliban saving the Afghani people but taking children and killing their own)

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  45. Nick,

    I think Amir has learned to cope with the fact that he has left Hassan and that he watched Hassan get raped. Amir has learned that it was in the past and that there is nothing he can do about it now and that he has to be ready to help if something like that ever happens again.

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  46. well what we know about amir would he die for hassans kid if he had too?

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  47. JD,

    Adding on to that, since the kid was so young, I think it is also possible that they took him and are now raising him to be Taliban, and to hate his own kind.

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  48. Kiely O- But do you wonder if they did not kill the kid as well? And where do you think the kid is?

    I think they didn't kill the kid because it would be more pain to watch your parents die and then have to live with it, rather than just being killed. They know that it is an awful thing to do but that is why they did it.

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  49. Tommy H-
    I agree with you. It is just not who Amir is. He wouldn't save anyone from a situation like that. Not his best friend, or his brother, even if he knew Hassan was his brother. He is full of cowardice and he has paid for it through guilt and sadness for his whole life. Yet now he realizes the full extent of what happened, and he finally decides to help against it.

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  50. Kiely,
    I agree with Tommy and you because Amir was like a brother to Hassan, but he just didn't ever look at it that way and he never felt like he was his brother.

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  51. Rob-
    How has the violence from car bombs and things like that affected how you have to live from your normal day life?

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  52. I think whether you are a poor Afghan or a rich Afghan your are still an Afghan. Amir had a lot of love for his country and did not want to leave.He loved kite running, socccer and the food and was a true Afghan. He was just fortunate as a kid and had a nice house and a great car. The only reason they left was because their lives were endangered when the russians started occupying the streets in Kabul. Children were being killed, schools were being burned and landmines were going off on innocent people. Therefore they had the opportunity to leave because of their money which most people did not have.

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  53. Inner Circle: Is the destruction of Kabul a symbol?

    I think the destruction symbolizes the country falling apart. It symbolizes the effect of what has happened in Afghanistan.

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  54. Rob-
    Is the kite runner like everyday life in Afghanistan?

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  55. On page 231, Amir says to Fraid, the cab driver, "I feel like a tourist in my own country." What do you think this means?

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  56. Zach K-
    I think that Amir would die for Hassan's kid because it would be doing a good favor for Amir not telling anyone about the rape. Also it is like his step to becoming a hero he has lost so much in his life and this is his to time to help a kids life.

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  57. Rob-
    Do people always have a constant fear over in Afghanistan? Is there ever a time where you can feel safe over there?

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  58. Do you think that Amir and his wife will adopt Hassan's child if they can find him?

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  59. Zach K- What we know about amir would he die for hassans kid if he had too?

    I believe Amir would die for Hassan's kids because of what has happened to him and how much Amir has grown since the alley.

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  60. Amir is starting to show courage because he could make the choice to stay in America with an easy path, but he is going to take to hard path and find Hassan's son and coming back to Afghanistan to his past takes courage.

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  62. Alec W-
    I believe there is more symbolism in Afghanistan falling apart. While I agree with you on saying the country is falling apart, I also think it might show what is happening to Amir as well. He is falling apart within, his best friend who he recently found out was his brother was murdered, his dad had died, and his homeland is in the worst condition he has ever seen. It represents Amir himself. The city is almost gone and so is Amir's hope.

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  63. Alec
    I agree with you about how the destruction in Kabul symbolizes the state of country. I also think it kind of symbolizes how Amir feels because it is so different from the Afghanistan that he grew up in.

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  64. -Yanni
    I think that it means he hasn't been back to his home country for a long time and everything has changed. It is hard for him to recognize everything because all of the destruction and what the Taliban have done.

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  65. Why do you think Amir wanted to go back into the house that he grew up in?

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  66. Lane-
    I think that the first chance Amir and his wife get they will adopt Hassan's kid becasue he has no one left for him and because Amir's wife cannot have a baby. What better time with a kid that is so important to Amir.

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  67. Zach H's Question: If Amir has one, what is his greatest fear?

    Lane's Response: I think Amir's biggest fear is being alone, and having no one to go to and be with.

    I agree with Lane, Amir's biggest fear is being alone and there is evidence to prove it. The cold winter night of 1975 in the alley haunts Amir because thats the time he knew he was not Hassan's true friend. Amir also is destroyed by the loss of Baba. Amir visits Baba's grave every friday and cries everytime even though it was years ago. With the guilt of his mother's death, Amir is losing everyone around him who he knows and holds dear such as Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan is like a father-figure to him and was the only person to encourage him to not give up on his writing even though Baba looked down upon Amir for writing. Then to top the losses all of, Amir loses Hassan and discovers that he is his half-brother. Even though Amir is not his true friend, Hassan is his brother and he is lost him for good before making amends.

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  68. Yanni K

    On page 231, Amir says to Fraid, the cab driver, "I feel like a tourist in my own country." What do you think this means?

    I think this means that the country has fallen apart alot after he had left and he realized it when he got there. Like its different when you read about something and when you actually go and see it. He saw all the destruction and death that have happened in the country. I think that growing up on the richer side of the country has affected his look to because he never saw the poor parts of the country.

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  69. -Lane
    I think that they will adopt Hassan's son if Amir finds him because Amir is Sohrab's Uncle. Plus, Amir's wife and Amir probably want a kid but they can't have one. So I do think that Amir will adopt Hassans's son.

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  70. Rob

    Are the taliban in the book just like they are in real life?

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  71. YanniK's question: On page 231, Amir says to Fraid, the cab driver, "I feel like a tourist in my own country." What do you think this means?

    I think this is another way of saying Afganistan has changed so much that he doesn't recognize his own country anymore.

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  72. Justin, I agree because Amir going back to Afghanistan is very brave and did not want to go back because of all the bad memories and destruction.

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  73. Greg said "Do you think it was okay to give away a child to save ten children's lives?"

    I think it was fair for Zaman to give away one child instead of the Taliban official to take ten.
    Zasman: "If I deny him one, he takes ten.....I swallow my pride and take his filthy, dirty money. Then I go to the bazaar and buy food for the children."

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  74. -Lane
    do you think that Amir and his wife will adopt Hassan's child if they can find him?

    I think they will because he has to step up and take Hassan's son because he if doesn't who will? This will help Amir with all the guilt he has.

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  75. I agree with Justin about his comment in the inner circle. Amir is making an heroic act by returning to Afghanistan. Amir could have turned his back on Afghanistan and all the Afghani people he know along with it, but Amir decided to go when Rahim Khan's calls for Amir in his hour of need.

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  76. -Rob
    What are the Taliban doing with the children that they take?

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  77. Ethan H-
    I agree with you, yet there are probably more reasons they would have for adopting Sohrab. Amir believes he never repented for what happened in the alley that one day, so he will do anything to fell better about what has happened, like adopting Hassans son.

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  78. colton,
    When the Russians invaded over 3 million people ran away from Afghanistan and that number increased as the war went on. After the Taliban came to power a great many more left, currently there are almost 2 million in Iran and anywhere from 4 to 6 million in Pakistan.

    John N,
    There are three groups of Taliban active now, one in the South (the original group), one in the East and one in the North East. The people respond to each group differently. The one in the North East, the Hiz-be Islamia Gulbuddin (HIG) is the worst of the group and disliked the most. They are openly in talks with Karzai as their leader wants to run Afghanistan. He is not well liked by the people having destroyed Kabul during the Civil War. The other two groups are currently providing governmental services at a better level than does the government, so even if not well liked, they are who the people turn to when they have a problem.

    Zach H,
    Afghanistan is an interesting country, nobody has ever occupied it for any length of time without changing. Genghis Khan became a Muslim, Alexander married into the Royal Family. If the Russians had won they would have destroyed a large number of the population to establish their rule. Since there are four distinct groups of people here, someone would have finally rose up against them and war would have returned.

    Iogane2013,
    A very good question. While life has improved for some, I have seen prices rise for the items we generally buy in the bazaars. Life in Kabul is much more robust than a couple of years ago and people seem to be more interested in their daily lives. Overall, despite the violence that occurs, the people have much more than they did a couple of years ago.

    alec w,
    Not in the major cities. In the rural areas there are still a lot of multiple wives. The reason is that many women die during childbirth and the multiple wives is a safeguard against it. Medical care here is very sparse once you leave the cities.

    All very good questions, thanks for asking,

    Rob

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  79. Hi, sorry I missed a couple of questions, we do not have a reliable Internet connection all the time.

    Zach K,
    They are not quite the same. The Mullah Omar group, the original Taliban, has adopted some of the items they were against before, namely the use of radio, television, and compact discs....This is the result of their time in Pakistan and the changes that have been brought to Afghanistan by the US and other countries. They do still dress the same and have the beards and black turbans.

    nickc,
    There is a great deal of similarities between the Kite Runner and today's Afghanistan. The bigotry remains against the Hazara, the Pashtun still run the country. Everyday life is not as neat as the book says, there are now over two million people in Kabul. I will forward some pictures showing the housing a great many of them live in. Electricity is just coming to Kabul as a city.

    Iogane2013,
    We have had a couple of rockets land in Kabul in the past few months, but the violence in the city has decreased significantly. There are stories that the Taliban have been paid to stay out of Kabul, but nobody is saying for sure. I travel around a great deal without any problems. The biggest problem is traffic. I intend to take some videos and will forward them along when I get done (it will be toward the end of the year).

    Ty B,
    Unfortunately, probably not. There was, at the time depicted in the book, a great deal of hate toward the Hazara and Amir would know if he defended Hassan he would have been attacked also. So he really was trying to save himself.

    David H,
    The primary issue in Afghanistan is the ethnic and tribal makeup of the population. The Pashtun, who are the majority, believe they should run the country (they do and have for most of the 20th century and Karzai is Pashtun). The people also have long memories and remember everything bad that happens, and take it out on the future generations. I had a linguist who knew of an instance where a cow had been killed. In the next 15 years over 10 people were killed because of that cow.

    EthanH2013,
    The kidnapping of children does not happen very often anymore. In the past they were used to provide a labor force and other duties as the Taliban decided needed to be done.

    Thanks again for the questions....
    Rob

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  80. Hi, This is a second posting to your questions. We do not have the best Internet connections here.

    EthanH2013,
    The Taliban do not kidnap children as they did during the time of the Kite Runner. Then they were used as slave labor, to intimidate villages, and to impose their rule. At times they were used to deliver weapons and bombs. It is not needed as much today as then.

    Zack K,
    Yes they were and to a degree they are still the same. They impose their will on people and demand they follow their rules. Often the people do because the Taliban does provide some justice without corruption.

    lucc,
    Not so much, there are places where all the military forces make the people uncomfortable and scared. In Kabul I do not see fear in the people's faces or their daily activities.

    nickc,
    Actually, in Kabul, even today it is. There is a lot going on, there is business being conducted everyday (as Amir's father did) and the children run in the streets. Kite flying and fighting goes on daily also.

    Iogane2013,
    We don't see much of that in Kabul. I travel around Kabul without anything more than the normal Afghan. I think that traffic is more a threat than anything.

    David H,
    This country has been at war for many years, both with people from outside the country and with each other. The Pashtun believe they should run the country and try to impose their will on the rest. The rest of the people do not agree and the fighting begins. So, to save the country, they feel it might include destroying the country.

    Ty B,
    No, unfortunately, I do not. Regardless, Amir would not accept Hassan as he was Hazara. It is very hard to convey what this means, but the Hazara are really treated as though they do not exist.

    alec w,
    In the big cities most do not have more than one wife. In the rural areas they still do because of the number of women that die during childbirth. Medical care is almost nonexistent in the countryside.

    I will try to take some video for you in the next few weeks and send it to you so that you can see what Kabul is like. I will also send some pictures showing the housing of the refugees living in Kabul.

    All good questions,
    Thanks,
    Rob

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  81. Rob-
    Thanks for answering my question I understand a little bit better now about the life style over there. Thanks!

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  82. Rob,
    Thanks for taking the time to answer all of our questions.
    Your answers will help us understand the book a lot better.

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  83. It surprised me how some people still have mutiple wives. I know it's for a purpose because of death during child birth, but it is interesting.

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  84. Rob D,
    Thanks for responding to all of our questions! I found interesting that one of the biggest threats in Kabul right know is the traffic and not the violence.

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  85. Thanks for responding to our questions it has help me learn more about the tailban.

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  86. Rob-
    Thanks for answering my question. It was helpful because i haven't ever been to Afghanistan or know a whole lot about it. Ive heard and just seen the bad things on tv. It was nice to know what it was more like. Thanks

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  87. Hi Rob.
    Thank you for answering my question. I had not heard before that there were three factions of Taliban in Afghanistan. I think it's very interesting and shows me that even though there's a "leading group"- the Taliban as a whole- even they can't decide what they want.

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  88. Rob,
    Thank you for answering all those questions. You helped me understand the Kite Runner more by telling me how Hazara's were treated. I never really understood how badly they were treated in real life. Thank you for the information.

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  89. Rob-
    Thank you so much for answering my questions I thought it was shocking to hear that traffic is probably the thing you should worry about. Also to hear that maybe the Taliban were being paid to stay out of Kabul was very interesting to me. Thank so much again for your time.

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  90. Thanks for answering my question, it really helped me understand what kind of things were happening at that time period.

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  91. Rob
    Thank you for answering all of our classes questions. I did not know that the Hazara people were really viewed as that inferior, and it was really eye opening to know that there are still places where people are shunned because of their ethnicity and religion.

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  92. Rob,
    Thanks for answering my question. It will help me understand the Kite Runner more and understand why the Taliban took the kids.
    -Thanks

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  93. Rob

    Thank you Rob, now i understand how the Taliban has evolved over time and teats their people in every day life.

    sincerely
    Zach K

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  94. Rob,
    Thanks for answering the questions. I learned about the daily lives of the people.

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  95. Rob- Thank you for answering the questions. The Kite Runner makes a lot more sense now.

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  96. Rob-
    Thank you so much for replying to all of our questions i really learned a lot. The thing i thought was most interesting was the multiple wife thing i never knew because it was about child deaths.

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  97. Wow, I find it kind of hard to believe that Afghanistan is in a condition that was depicted in the book. I think it's great the fighting and child kidnapping has pretty much stopped, yet you are just getting electricity? And also the fact that men marry multiple wives because the usually die during child birth. I find that hard to imagine, because there must not be many hospitals if that is true. But if you are just now starting to get electricity, then that does make sense, yet it's still insane...
    Well, thank you for answering our questions, Rob, it was fun.

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  98. Rob
    I'm sure you're very busy in Afghanistan so thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions.

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  99. Rob-

    Thank you so much for answering all of our questions. The answers to all of them were very interesting. One thing I learned is that how they were just getting electricity and America has had electricity for a ton of years. I also thought that the story about the cow and then the people dying was crazy. Thanks again for answering all of our questions in great detail.

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  100. Rob,

    Thank you very much for responding to my question and giving me a better understanding of the Kite Runner and life in Afghanistan! I appreciate the time you took to write your detailed responses. I have many more questions for you but I do not know where to begin. All of this means a lot to me.

    Thanks again,
    David

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  101. I was surprised when you said that there are three different groups of Taliban because I always thought they were just one group in one place.

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  102. Hi Rob,

    My name is Lane and I am in Ms. Leclaire's 1st hour class. I really appriciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to respond to our questions and telling us about Afghanistan. I did not know however, that traffic is one of the bigger problems in Kabul. I find that interesting seeing as how there is/was a big war that just took place in that area.

    Thanks again,

    Lane H.

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  103. Rob-
    Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to our classes questions. I'm sure you are very busy, and it was very nice for you to take the time out of your day to answer our questions. It is very interesting how different life in Kabul is, compared to how life is in America. I really learned a lot, Thanks Rob!

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