Soccer, slaughter “[Rahim] …the man next to me cheered loudly. Suddenly this young bearded fellow who was patrolling the aisles, eighteen years old at most by the look of the butt of his Kalashnikov. ‘Do that again and I’ll cut out your tongue, you old donkey!’… I was sitting there, blood gushing down my face, apologizing to that son of a dog” (209). Under the brutal control of the Russians, the people of Afghanistan thought the arrival of the American-funded Taliban, under the guise of democracy, was their chance to go back to the peaceful days where there was no fear that one might suddenly disappear and never return (211). Little did the citizens know that a totalitarian dictatorship initiated the darkest day when “They won’t let you be human” (209). In all the inhumane executions the Taliban committed, the most well-known were the ones completed in the Ghazi Stadium. The stadium is located in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, and was built in 1923 as a multi-functional stadium. After Taliban invasion, the officials shot down the stadium and turned it into an execution ground. In a news article published by The Epoch Times, the black-turbaned Taliban (black is the colour of war or surrendering ego in Islam; Taliban claimed themselves as Mujahideen, soldiers of God) would ask the convicts to kneel before the goalposts; then, the so-called felons who had disobey God’s word (283) would be stoned or shot dead. While spectators shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) (Afghan).
Amir witnesses the whole incidence personally when he went back for Sohrab who is the son of Hassan (282). This event was a turning point to Amir because he acknowledged the fact that the Afghanistan he used to know had changed drastically (276). Could he feel guiltier because he has left his old friend, Afghanistan, during the time when it needs Amir the most? Or does the weak