The Tragic, Undeniable Connection between The Kite Runner and the Ukraine Conflict
by Zachary Artley
Photo by Sebastian Leis
In the words of former United States President Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction” (Reagan). With the state of current events, these words feel as real as ever. Even though the Russia-Ukraine conflict is far from the US mainland, it serves as a stern reminder of how the fight for freedom is incessant. Throughout history, there has been a continuum of factions whose principal goal is the oppression of others. Today, this oppression is exhibited by the Russian state. The series of events in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, provides a glimpse into what this forced oppression is like. Moreover, many parallels can be drawn between the experiences of characters in the novel and those who are enduring the contemporary Ukrainian conflict. Namely, both the characters and the Ukrainians have endured genocide, sexual exploitation/harassment, and psychological trauma due to the horrors of war.
In The Kite Runner, the audience is made aware of the constant societal tension between the ruling class Pashtuns and marginalized Hazaras. For the Hazara people, harassment from the Pashtuns is never-ending throughout the book. Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, this harassment turns into something far more sinister – genocide. While Hazara Hassan and his family are living in Baba’s home, Hassan and his wife are taken to the streets and publicly executed for being “lying thieves” of the house (Hosseini 219). This event demonstrates how the presence of racist beliefs served as an excuse for genocide in the novel (Kumar). Murder and genocide have unfortunately also been exhibited numerous times in the Ukrainian conflict in just a matter of a few short weeks. Arguably the most disturbing act of terror thus far, was the recent Russian attack on a Mariupol maternity ward. The bomb has left five civilians confirmed dead, including the mother and her unborn child (Bregel.)
Just like Hassan and his wife were wrongly portrayed as “lying thieves”, the maternity ward civilians have been wrongly portrayed by the Russian government as propagandistic actors. In a tweet removed by Twitter due to misleading information, the Russian Embassy in the UK claimed the individuals in figure 1 were mere “makeup” actors and no civilians were hurt in the bombing (Bregel). To the educated mind, a claim like this is exceedingly far-fetched. However, westerners have many democratic luxuries that those in Russia and the far east do not. Namely, in western nations, there are independent news outlets that allow individuals to form their own opinions, whereas Russian media is all run by the state (Vorobyov). Correspondingly, it is easy for their media to spread lies unchecked. This fact makes the minds of Russians easily corruptible. Granted, independent news sources sometimes have unscrupulous agendas as well. However, due to the competitive nature of the media enterprise, these agendas and viewpoints are more likely to “balance out” between sources in a democratic country.
Prior to the invasion, Russia portrayed Ukraine as an exclusive nation full of “neo-Nazi” and “antisemitic” leadership (Frum). To put it simply, for close to a decade now, everyday Russians have been led into believing Ukraine is an inherent threat to their nation’s sovereignty by their state media. This attempt at propaganda and censorship of truth is also exhibited in the book. Early on, the protagonist Amir excitingly reads a book on Hazaras that he got from his deceased mother’s university book collection (Hosseini 9). If it was not for his mother possessing this book, Amir likely never would have been exposed to certain information about the Hazaras, such as how many were senselessly martyred. Simply put, the Pashtun school system and culture always painted the Hazara people in a negative light to keep them marginalized (Kumar). By seeking to actively spread falsehoods about Ukraine, the Russian regime is attempting to dehumanize the Ukrainian people. Furthermore, by depicting the Hazaras as inferior individuals, the Pashtun’s similarly attempted to dehumanize the Hazaras (Wadood). Through this process, both malicious entities set the stage for further dehumanization by means of genocide. In other words, otherwise good individuals are more likely to commit heinous acts against those perceived as enemies. In the case of Russia, young soldiers are more likely to kill if they believe the Ukrainians are truly evil antisemites like their media has claimed.
Due to the direct and indirect horrors of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, nearly 3 million people have fled Ukraine, with many more fleeing every second (Malloy et al.). As can be imagined, a lot of these refugees have very few places and people to turn to for the time being due to the rapidity of the migration. In turn, certain unscrupulous individuals have sought to take advantage of the desperation of the refugees. In the few weeks since refugees began leaving in mass, numerous reports have already surfaced of men attempting to take sexual advantage of women emigrants (White). In one instance, a man has already been arrested in Poland for raping an emigrant he offered to help and took into his home. (McGrath & Press). In The Kite Runner, readers are exposed to the idea of sexual exploitation of refugees as well. As Baba and Amir are initially migrating out of Afghanistan with others, they reach a checkpoint where a Russian soldier states the only way the group can pass is if he gets “thirty minutes” with the one woman (Hosseini 115). If it was not for Baba’s subsequent courage to stand up to the soldier on behalf of the woman, he would have raped her. Both the rape of the innocent Ukrainian refugee and the harassment of the character in the novel, demonstrates the disturbingly tough choices these emigrants are sometimes forced to make. These sexual predators today are leading vulnerable women to ask themselves, “Do I let my life end in this land of destruction, or let myself be harshly raped?” This is the farthest thing from an enviable position.
Sexual exploitation of vulnerable individuals is not always about self-gratification. Sometimes it is about power, revenge, and even money. In The Kite Runner, the dynamic of power and revenge manifests through Assef’s rape of Hassan after Hassan made him angry. Assef was angry that Hassan threatened to shoot him with a slingshot and did not like being stood up by a Hazara. As a way of asserting his dominance, Assef decides to rape him (Murtaza). With respect to the Ukraine conflict, the UN has already issued several warnings about a potential increase in sex trafficking, especially since most of the refugees are women and children (Dunphy). The bottom line is, that there are always certain individuals who seek to benefit from the hardships of others.
For those impacted by armed conflicts, the horrors of war rarely, if ever, end on the battlefield. It is a constant struggle to mentally escape the pain of what was experienced, both for soldiers and civilians. In The Kite Runner, the audience is introduced to what the psychological trauma of war is like. As aforementioned, Hassan and his wife were murdered at the hands of the Taliban in the novel. In an abbreviated period, their son Sohrab’s war-ravaged country became the site of his parent’s murder, he was forced into an orphanage, was sold to the Taliban, and sexually abused by Assef (Hosseini 219-292). Any child with these circumstances would undoubtedly have profound psychological trauma. Evidence of Sohrab’s internal pain is shown when he attempts to commit suicide (Hosseini 343). He feels as if he is all alone leading up to this and is very withdrawn (Fathi & Ahmadi). This act of mentally withdrawing continues from the time Amir comes into Sohrab’s life until they fly the kite together (Hosseini 371). However, considering how traumatic the events in both of their lives were, it can be assumed that there is still a long road to recovery for both characters.
In Ukraine, mental health experts are already stating that refugee children are also withdrawing emotionally (“Ukraine’s Child Refugees Pose Huge Challenge for Europe”). These experts likely understand how no one can navigate psychological trauma alone and have a good outcome. Not only are the Ukrainian children refusing to speak about the events, but they are also actively covering their mouths and ears with their hands when prompted to talk about it (Gilbody-Dickerson). Similar to Sohrab, the children feel alone and as if they have no one to turn to. These actions further demonstrate how sometimes the psychological horrors of war, can be worse than the physical horrors simply because they persist for longer.
Arguably the biggest takeaway from The Kite Runner and the Russian-Ukraine conflict is the importance of an education and media that fosters independent, nonprejudiced thinking. From virtually the start of their lives, both the Pashtuns and Russians were taught to view the Hazaras and Ukrainians respectively, as barbaric. A recently captured Russian commander has even admitted how the elites told the Russian forces they were off to fight Nazis, and he soon realized that was a lie (Pagones). If nations around the globe continue to enable a select few to tell the many what to believe war and will repeatedly be the only result. Disinformation creates a herd mentality that only alienates certain factions. Without the natural right to the truth, the multi-millennium long struggle for a more democratic world was in vain. So, regardless of the outcome of the current war, it is imperative that citizens of the world work earnestly toward a civilization that greater values independent thinking. And that starts in our own small communities by valuing the difference of opinion.
Furthermore, as shown by the sexual exploitation of emigrants in the novel and presently in Ukraine, in times of struggle it is important to be “on guard”. In other words, it is critical to avoid following anything blindly. In the case of the characters in The Kite Runner and the Ukrainian refugees, they really have no choice but to follow blindly. However, this idea can be extrapolated to a broader sense. The politicians around us are not always who they claim to be. Sometimes they have ulterior motives that must be identified through careful critical thinking. This goes back to the priority that society must more greatly value independent thinking, so as not to fall into a sinister trap.
Finally, our world must put a greater emphasis on mental health services for those who need them. Especially when those individuals are vulnerable children. The best and simplest way for society to better itself is to make sure everyone feels comfortable sharing their hope, dreams, and visions for tomorrow’s world. That cannot happen when someone is fighting an internal battle versus himself/herself. The challenges of the modern world are increasingly complex, but by tapping into the spirit and ideas of everyday individuals, the problems can and will be solved.
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