THE KITE RUNNER Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 1

THE KITE RUNNER
GHILZAI
to come into the Fremont area. Most Afghans, including myself and my family, were
immigrants who escaped Afghanistan through Pakistan with smugglers. My family then
lived in Germany for nine months in refugee camps until we came to the United States. I
can tell you first hand that the transition was very difficult for the immigrant families who
were established [in their home country]. My father was a diplomat and my mother was
a stay-at-home mom. We were an upper class family [in Afghanistan] and then we come
here and we have nothing. We have lost our home and we have no worldly goods except
what’s on our back. So, like us, most Afghans had to re-establish themselves. My father
became a security guard. My mom would take odd jobs, sewing and things like that. All
my siblings who were over sixteen picked up odd jobs such as working in restaurants and
such. I was eleven years old at that time so I didn’t necessarily face that but we all lived in
one small house and basically helped each other get back on our feet. We had to learn a
new language.
JB: Did you speak any English or did your family speak any English before arriving in the
United States
HG: My father did speak English because he had his bachelors and masters from San
Francisco State University when we arrived here. He had studied here in the fifties. My
mother didn’t speak any English. My siblings did speak some English but I didn’t speak any
English and neither did my younger brother. Most immigrants basically have to make a
new life for themselves. For some Afghans, when they came in their forties and they didn’t
speak the language, they had to find jobs that were not fitting of their skills. Some people
who came were doctors, lawyers and educators and they were only able to find blue
collar jobs if they even found jobs. There are many, many challenges when they first arrive.
But over time the other challenge that they face is assimilation into the United States. For
example, when the kids start becoming more Americanized and wanting the freedoms
that the American kids have and the parents are still trying to live a traditional Afghan life.
And you see some of that in the book. I think Khaled has done a wonderful job. One of
the things when I read the book that really resonated with me was that he told the Afghan-
American refugee story so accurately: the challenges they faced and the things that they
had to do to survive. Khaled so beautifully captured the new communities that the Afghan
immigrants built within their new homes in the United States. Reading the book, I felt like,
finally, my story is being told.
JB: That’s true, we hear a lot of Ellis Island immigrant stories, but not as many from
countries like Afghanistan.
HG: I feel like Khaled did a beautiful job telling our story. Prior to this book, I hardly ever
talked about my immigrant experience because I didn’t think anybody could comprehend
what I was saying. Because the story was such a traumatic one but also such a big story –
the story was so complex and outrageous I never really talked to my friends about it. But
then when The Kite Runner came out, which was many years after I’d been living here,
I started getting calls from people who wanted me to speak at their book club about my
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 31