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THE KITE RUNNER--AND AMERICAN FANTASY IN AFGHANISTAN
By Kevin Anthony Stoda, the Train Runner in Bavaria
I was riding on a series of trains through Bavaria during a light snowstorm today. As I rode--and then ran through--the central terminals in Nurnberg, Wurzburg, and Aschaffenburg on my way back to Wiesbaden this below zero day in history January 2010, I took time to read through Khaled Hosseini's THE KITE RUNNER, set primarily in pre-9-11 Afghanistan.
http://www.khaledhosseini.com/
I started my journey westward from near the Czech Republic from one of the U.S. Military [Grafenwoehr] Bases in Bavaria and marveled at how the connections to Afghanistan were so evident around me in these particular hills of the Upper Palatinate. In just a few months, locally stationed American volunteers by the thousands are going to leave the snow country of Germany--a place of relative security globally--in order to expand American presence in snowy Afghanistan (and even into Pakistan in terms of indirect and direct U.S. military moneys, drones, and forces.)
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/vilseck.htm
I had picked up the book, THE KITE RUNNER, on base in Vilseck and was pleased that American soldiers and their families were familiarizing themselves with Hosseini's Afghanistan by introducing themselves to the complex history of 20th century Afghanistan. Like Hosseini many American soldiers and their families are writers and poets, too.
[Blood ties is a major theme in THE KITE RUNNER.] Here is an example of one Army mom's prayer for her offspring and blood.
God bless my son
As he falls to sleep,
I pray this night the peace to keep.
When he wakes to start the day
I pray that love will lead the way.
If there's danger
And if there's strife,
Please send Angels to guard his life.
Keep him safe and free from fear,
Bless my soldier and keep him near.
Until he's home, Until he's safe
Bring peace to our hearts
And strength to our faith.
--Army Mom
http://3-2scr.blogspot.com/2008/09/army-moms-prayer.html
Like the Himalayan residents of Hosseini's Afghanistan and Pakistan, various soldiers have their own prayers for each important occasion in life and new mission. For example, here is the 2nd Cavalry Prayer:
Almighty, merciful, and loving Father, you are the one who hears all our prayers and grants our petitions.
