The year is now 1981. Amir and Baba flee Soviet-occupied Afghanistan as a vicious communist coup claims the country. In this new Afghanistan, those who do not observe religious edicts are hunted and persecuted, even reported by neighbors and relatives. Baba has paid a man named Karim to smuggle them out of Kabul in his truck along with several other Afghans. Amir is 18. He begins to feel carsick, and the truck must stop for him while Amir vomits on the shoulder of the road.

Although Amir had previously stated that he had an arrangement with Russians posted at a checkpoint out of Kabul, they are stopped, and a soldier who is visibly under the influence of drugs demands 20 minutes with a young bride from the group of refugees in the back of Karim’s truck. Baba intervenes, stating: “War doesn’t negate decency. It demands it, even more than in times of peace” (116). The Russian soldier unholsters his sidearm and threatens to shoot Baba. Closing his eyes, Amir hears a gunshot, but it is from the weapon of the soldier’s superior. The older Russian lets them pass, explaining that they send boys who come to Afghanistan and become lost in drugs.