Valentine’s Day in the Land of Incest

A walk in the past

It’s Valentine’s Day and my husband is taking me to the land of incest, Karatara. I asked him to come here — I had a brother who sexually harassed me since age eight. He had mental problems, it wasn’t his fault.

We take a right on the tar road, past a sizeable liquor store, and dive into the village’s flat lands. Karatara is an ancient settlement in South Africa where woodcutter families were relocated long ago. It’s a village on a plateau, close to the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains, nestled along the river that carries its name, on the edge of the Knysna Forest, in the Western Cape. My husband’s already been here for his documentary.

We drive by the community’s only food shop. In front of it are a couple of men hanging together. They all turn around to look at what’s coming with angst in their eyes. One has a head shaped like a bowling skittle and a protruding nose.

We park by the store. As we leave the car, my husband and I greet the men; they wave, then quickly disperse as we approach. We go inside the store to buy a fresh bottle of water. The air is stale and damp. Products are crammed in two rooms with no windows and almost no light if it wasn’t for the open door.

The dead head of a huge fish with sharp teeth and a few kudus are hung on the wall behind the old woman at the till. Her electric blue eyeliner has sunk to lower levels. I want to talk to her, but I’m not ready yet so we pay and leave.

We walk by many rows of shabby houses. It’s dead silent. We see no one for a while as we reach the end of one block. All homes are of similar sizes, with just one level and no more than four or five rooms surrounded by flat, dry grass. Most entrance doors are left open and people’s cars are often right next to the main door. Some have high brick fences, and those who don’t, have barking guard dogs and signs reading “Beware of the Dog.”

As we turn right onto the next row of houses, we come across a school that looks abandoned. Under the banner featuring the school’s name is a slogan reading “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve.”