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Graphic Literature

From “Farm 54”

By Galit Seliktar & Gilad Seliktar
Translated from Hebrew by Ronen Altman Kaydar
Set in Israel in the 1970s and 1980s, this semi-biographical story follows the life of a female protagonist "in the shadow of war and occupation" who also, with time, is able to "reflect [on] universal feelings, passions and experiences".
Voice off frame: wake up !
Woman 1: Could you please go instead of me ? I've got my period , my stomach hurts

Woman 1: All you've got to do is follow the soldiers and make sure that they don't touch the women when they evacuate the house
Woman 1: They don't demolish houses for no reason

Woman 1: Don't worry , they won't touch an Arab woman with a 10 - foot pole
Solider: Sorry . I don't have a helmet for you .
In the next jeep sits Efrat , looking even more refreshed than she was in the shower , her hair combed . an army coat wrapped fight around her

She fixes her hair under her helmet and tightens the main strap under her chin
Ten minutes later we stop by the roadside to play with the night vision device , the " bunny rabbit "

until it's time to storm the village .

Through the lens I discover the naked night
Soldier: See this village ?

This joint's gonna rock
Good morning ya jamáa . The yahoud came to your village !

The house is large , with many rooms . The men , awake already , are ordered to evacuate
They start emptying the house : mattresses , pots , chairs

nothing stays in place . The men work efficiently , passing along furniture and personal effects

stagehands to their own disaster
A heavy - set man carrying a giant wardrobe orders his wife , who yells and curses at the soldiers . to keep still
Efrat: Beautiful
The pale morning shines over the houses , revealing the slopes that close in on the village

The evacuation is complete

my tired image is reflected back to me from the mirror in the giant wardrobe
My eyes burn with weariness , thin capillaries wriggling like red earthworms in their white membranes .

when the Combat Engineering corps start setting up the explosives , a plump pigeon advances to the roof's edge

looking down on the proceedingsThe pigeons depart to other roofs

Soon the houses too will fly up in the sky
The pigeons depart to other roofs

Soon the houses too will fly up in the sky

The graphic novel Farm 54 brings together three semi-autobiographical stories from the childhood, puberty, and early adulthood (military service years) of its female protagonist, growing up in Israel’s rural periphery in the 1970s and 1980s. The stories present the disturbing underground dimensions of adolescence, and the dangers and traumas that subvert the superficial tranquility of youth in the countryside. While these Israeli childhood stories take place in the shadow of war and occupation, they eventually also reflect universal feelings, passions and experiences. The piece in this issue is taken from the last chapter, “Houses,” set during the protagonist’s military service in the beginning of the first Palestinian Intifada. The young soldier, posted in the occupied territories, is sent on a nocturnal house demolition mission.

From Meshek 54. By arrangement with the authors. All rights reserved.

English

The graphic novel Farm 54 brings together three semi-autobiographical stories from the childhood, puberty, and early adulthood (military service years) of its female protagonist, growing up in Israel’s rural periphery in the 1970s and 1980s. The stories present the disturbing underground dimensions of adolescence, and the dangers and traumas that subvert the superficial tranquility of youth in the countryside. While these Israeli childhood stories take place in the shadow of war and occupation, they eventually also reflect universal feelings, passions and experiences. The piece in this issue is taken from the last chapter, “Houses,” set during the protagonist’s military service in the beginning of the first Palestinian Intifada. The young soldier, posted in the occupied territories, is sent on a nocturnal house demolition mission.

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