Their well-being has been a source of concern for months -- even delaying the film's debut -- but The Kite Runner's boy leads have found a safe haven in the United Arab Emirates.

The New York Times reports that Ali Danish Bakhty Ari, Zekiria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, "feared to be vulnerable to reprisal because of the film's depiction of a culturally inflammatory rape scene," arrived in the UAE on Friday. The move came after a coordinated, monthslong effort by studio executives, relief workers, diplomats -- and, according to the Times, a former CIA agent. From the article:

"I can't really tell you what a weight came off when they landed safely," said Megan Colligan, a Paramount marketing executive involved in the effort. The group exodus from Kabul did not come in time for the boys to obtain visas and attend the "Kite Runner" premiere, which will take place on Tuesday night at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. But Paramount executives and others involved in the relocation effort still hope to bring the co-stars to the United States to be honored somehow and to grant their wish to visit as tourists.

"We owe these kids some carefree moments as children after everything that has gone around them," said Rick Klein, a Middle East specialist at the consulting firm Kissinger McLarty Associates, who was hired by the studio.

Source: New York Times