Journeys of Hope

Meyer Fortes and Sonia Donen grew up in a Jewish immigrant community in South Africa, where they met and fell in love. In 1927, Meyer set off, alone, to study in London. Sonia stayed behind in South Africa and they kept up a lively correspondence to keep in touch. Their letters chart their hopes, fears, disappointments and successes, as Meyer struggles to make a life for himself in London and prepare for Sonia’s arrival.

Members of both their families had undergone their own journeys, fleeing from danger in the Jewish Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire. Meyer’s father, Nathan, had first emigrated to Memphis, Tennessee and spent a period of time in Leeds, UK. Meyer’s half-sister, Annie, had recently travelled back to Memphis, having been briefly incarcerated on Ellis Island, USA, and was temporarily separated from her husband. Sonia, herself, had been a refugee from the Russian Civil War that followed the 1917 Russian Revolution.

The letters offer unique insights into universal challenges, chiming with current affairs and prompting a journey of discovery through eastern Europe. Few traces now remain of this important period of history, overlaid by more immediate, recent conflicts. Some of the contemporary citizens, descendants of those who stayed, are now facing similar challenges to the families who feature in the letters.