ORPHANS A GLANCE AT SOHRAB’S (OF KITE RUNNER) REAL LIFE PEERS The Qur’aan asks us to set aright the affairs of the orphans and equates repulsing the orphan to denying the Day of Judgment, yet this very day thousands of Muslim orphans receive inadequate or no care. Nearly a quarter of the 100,000 national and international orphans in the developed country of Britain alone ceased to be cared for in 2003 (What Future for Muslim Orphans? An Overview). All the while, the number of children being shipped out of Middle Eastern counties rises dramatically each year, and thousands more remain in war torn countries. With all the resources in this world why must children be alone and hungry? In The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, the obstacles that Amir faces in adopting Sohrab are not unlike the real world. Many of the orphans’ home countries have disrupted governments and multiple crises that impede their abilities to keep track of orphans and maintain speedy bureaucracies. And even though it sometimes is the difference between eating or not, it is challenging for orphans to be pulled out of their home cultures and religious environments. On top of all that are mismatches in the ideals and politics from country to country, most important of which is the unique import Muslim nations put on how Shari’ah relates to adoption. Examining the situation of orphans in Afghanistan and nearby countries sheds light on a realistic element of The Kite Runner, which meritoriously reminds us of a true, but often overlooked, crisis. Just like many real orphans, Amir found Sohrab tangled up in a web of red tape. Amir resigns hope of anyone identifying his relationship with Sohrab, a vital issue when he talks with Raymand Andrews in the American embassy (Khaled Hosseini, 329). Obtaining the necessary death certificates of Sohrab’s parents is another impossibility (Hosseini, 330). All over the Muslim world hopeful caretakers face the same ironic laws, intended to protect children, but too often locking them into perilous situations. Adoption Act 257 of 1952 governs adoption in Malaysia (What Future). Each child must be personally identified by a friend or relative in Malaysia as well as the Social Welfare Department, after which follows a lengthy, multi-stage probation period that often keeps prospective parents in Malaysia for two or more years. In the last ten years the country has only allowed 5 adoptions by American couples while adoption is also extremely rare in Bangladesh and practically non-existent in Iraq and Kazhakistan (What Future). Amir is noble for facing these kinds of laws, but especially considering his marriage and his run-in with Assef, it is little wonder that he is sour to his lawyer’s ideas, including that he stay with Sohrab in Pakistan for two years (Hosseini, 339). Ironically, Sorab, himself, is yet another daunting force against Amir’s efforts. Children do not always want to leave their home counties, and when they do, the ordeal is often very difficult for them. When Sohrab turns up missing Amir finds him at peace outside the masjid reminiscing about his old life and, specifically, how his father had brought him to the Blue Mosque (Hosseini, 317). Before they go back to the hotel, Amir gives Sohrab a picture of his family and the two share a close moment. Of course this peace does not last long; Sohrab’s suicide attempt and his eventual demand for his old life back demonstrate his tremendous psychological hurdles (Hosseini, 354). When Amir does get him to America it takes a long time before Sohrab will even minimally participate in life. Real world orphans have complicated psychological, cultural and religious issues as well. These factors prompt a whole other layer of laws and concerns for governments and social organizations. Raymond Andrews asks Amir if he is a practicing Muslim just as almost any prospective parent of a real Muslim orphan would be asked (Hosseini, 329; What Future). Muslim countries promote and often demand that Muslim orphans only be adopted by Muslim families, both to preserve orphans’ religious wellbeing, and also to provide Islaam as a familiar, stabilizing factor (What Future). Unfortunately, in many adoptive western countries, race plays a more decisive role than religion. In Britain, for instance, a white Muslim child would be denied to a black Muslim family in preference of a white Christian family, though this is diametrically opposed to Islamic values and one of the leading reasons for delayed and unsatisfactory placement of orphans (What Future). For similar reasons national adoption is usually preferred over international, despite lack of national resources in many Muslim countries. Shari’ah supports an excellent way to offset all these issues and help stabilize orphans, but in another twist of irony, it is often an additional barrier to international adoption. Adoption is not even legal in Islaam, but long and short term fostering is encouraged and fully supported (What Future). In the case of children like Sohrab, the difference between adoption and fostering is subtle. But for children whose living parents are simply unable to care for them, fostering allows a family to maintain communication and, in some cases, the family is able to stabilize and take a child back. In contrast, adoption records are only opened under strict criteria, and even in the US there are around 60,000 Americans searching for their birth parents or birth children (What Future). Additionally, fostering emphasizes an orphan’s heritage and origin, giving the orphan a sense of identity. Fortunately, in recent years Muslim fostering agencies are on the rise in the west (What Future). However, global legal and social systems are still not fully geared to accommodate and promote this type of parenting, even while adoption is slow and steadfastly discouraged by many Mulsim countries and organizations. While these international issues are hammered out thousands of children are living in inadequate or even dangerous situations. Sohrab’s life with Assef is startling and almost unbelievable, but the events of war lead to real, profound tragedies . . .
[pic][1]
. . . for the children of Afghanistan. During the Russian invasion the Russians sent thousands of Afghan orphans to the Soviet Union for “long-term indoctrination.” The Khad (Afghan secret police) believe these abducted children who have no mother or father to cry for “will be the hard core of communism in the future” (What Future). Furthermore, Muslim orphans are the products of abuse, disability, parents with poor mental or physical health and the general destruction of lives and infrastructures (What Future). While the orphans wait for the world to prepare safe places for them, they have barely enough to survive— too young and alone to protect themselves from those who prey on the weak. The Kite Runner is not just a reminder that children are in peril, but might even inspire people to act. Saving a child might not always mean fighting someone like Assef, but Amir’s luck in getting Sohrab a visa is not so common either. Many hopeful parents tussle with the political and social structures that control the fates of orphans, often underscored by the lack of cooperation between East and West. At the same time, life for these traumatized children is often difficult no matter where they live. Peace efforts, time, money, thoughtfulness, communication and work are all necessary ingredients if the international community is ever to resolve the orphan crisis, but we can hope it will. There is room for everybody to lend a hand.
Works Cited

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 2003.

"What Future for Muslim Orphans? An Overview." Islam Online. 10 Apr. 2005. 22 Apr 2007 .
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[1] This and the photograph on the cover were published in “What Future for Muslim Orphans? An Overview.”

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