My father talked about people in South Africa who were "landsleit" - I think it must have referred to people from Rozalimas as the majority of South African Jews are of Lithuanian descent.

I remember as a child, adults pouring over lists in the Jewish Chronicle trying to trace family. My father had always corresponded with Hava Sirkind (nee Lapidot) As teenagers they were very fond of one another and she had intendend to follow my father to South Africa . This was before her father Yakov, married my widowed aunt, Rivel. Hava was one of the children of Yakov Lapidot and Merah. Hava was the stepdaughter of Rivel Lapidot, nee Grevler, my aunt.  Hava married someone else and they were sent to Siberia, where her husband rose to a high position in the army.  They had a child who died at a young age. I remember as a child, that we sent parcels to Siberia. According to Lea, the parcels and money were sometimes confiscated by the Russian  authorities. In the early 1970’s, when there was a possibility to immigrate to Israel, the Sirkins, now retired, made aliya to Tel Aviv, Israel via Rozalimas.  

Claims to the Lapidot home were denied as they had not paid municipal taxes for 30 years. While there , they ascertained the exact fate of Rivel and her children from local Lithuanians.