Quote 22
"I was 18 years old when my Uncle Fereydoon and his friends proclaimed the independence of the Iranian province of Azerbaijan." (8.9)
Freedom always comes at a price. Uncle Fereydoon is killed and, although it takes many years, Uncle Anoosh, who tells Marji this story, is also killed after being branded a traitor to Iran. They don't really care for freedom there, in case you haven't realized that yet.
Quote 23
"Don't tell anyone that I'm back. I don't want to see people!" (29.34)
Marjane is afraid of seeing her friends for a couple of reasons: (1) There's that whole "inability to admit her shame" thing—living homeless in Vienna isn't something you proudly tell people about; and (2) she's probably afraid that she won't be able to relate to them anymore. They've been stuck in Iran for years—what could they have in common at this point?
Quote 24
I was very scared. It was the end of my career. (27.23)
Being from Iran, Marjane is accustomed to living with fear. That's just how they roll there. As a result, even though she's scared of getting expelled for drug use… she doesn't curb her drug use any. At least she stops dealing, though—that's a step, we guess.