Hassan is involved in several unhappy incidents on the streets of Kabul. One occurred early in the story when several soldiers recognized Hassan as he walked by with Amir. They made disparaging remarks about Hassan and his mother, Sanaubar, whom the soldiers claim to have known intimately.

     The soldiers laughed. One of them made a squealing sound...
     "What a tight little sugary cunt she had!" the soldier was saying...  (Chapter Two)

Amir later comforted Hassan in the movie theatre as "Tears were sliding down his cheeks." This event foreshadowed two other terrible events that happened to Hassan on the streets: One was Assef's rape of Hassan following Amir's winning the kite-flying contest. The other was Hassan's own death, when he was ordered to kneel in the street outside Baba's house before being shot to death by the Taliban.