We have all grown familiar with the story of the Titanic, the passenger liner that sank in the Northern Atlantic in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. This week as the tragedy marked its 100th Anniversary, the stories and accounts from that horrific day that resulted in the deaths of over 1,500 people have resurfaced. What many might not know about the Titanic was that there were a number of Arabs on board the ship. Their existence and accounts of their stories however have been long lost at sea. 

The common misconception is that there must’ve not have been a large number of Arabs on the Titanic, with predominantly British, Irish and American passengers taking up a majority of the ship. The 1997 James Cameron movie even depicts this on screen. Almost three hours into the movie a glimpse of one Arab family is finally captured, trying to escape the sinking in the third class cabin. 

But according to Leila Salloum Elias, who was the author of the 2011 book ‘The Dream and then the Nightmare: The Syrians who Boarded the Titanic, the Story of the Arab-Speaking Passengers,’ she has traced up to 122 Arab passengers on the ship.

“It bothered me that I went to school and there was no mention of Arabs ever being on the Titanic. This was the height of immigration from greater Syria,” Elias said.

Three surviving Arabs from the Titanic are shown here. Hinnah Yusuf Razi Darwish Tu’mah and her husband (not a passenger) are shown in the front row. Jirjis Yusuf Darwish Tu’mah and sister Mariyam Yusuf Darwish Tu’mah (back row) are also shown in this photo, taken years after the sinking.   Photo courtesy al-Anwar February 10, 1998

According to Elias, many of the Arabs that were on the surviving and perished lists had to be translated to English by the American and British authorities. Many of their original names were altered in translation. This resulted in many families back in the Middle East never knowing if their loved ones had been on the ship, because their names were nowhere to be found on the lists. Her extensive research involved contacting the descendents of many of these passengers and getting their official story from family members by interviewing them in their home villages. 

Some striking details she learned while interviewing the families was that some of the Lebanese passengers on board the ship had gotten shot, after refusing to obey the orders of the ships security personnel. She has put together a detailed list of most of the Arab passengers that were on board and tells their unique story.

“They left their culture and their traditions and wanted to come to this new land. They are heroes for their families because they did this, whether they survived or not,” Elias stated. 

This photo of Niqula Nasrallah was taken shortly before the event of the Titanic. He died during the sinking after helping his 14-year-old wife get on a lifeboat.

When compiling her book Elias had decided to stick to a politically correct term, by referring to the passengers as Syrians despite the formation of Lebanon later on in the century. In order to stay with the historic timeline, she said it made the most sense to refer to the passengers as Syrians because that was the name of their nation in 1912.

Some of the more interesting stories involving some of the passengers from Syria include Niqula Khalil Nasrallah and Adal Habib Nasrallah, newlyweds who were on their honeymoon from the town of Zahle. Adal was only 14 years old when she boarded the ship with her husband. On the night of the sinking, Niqula put his young wife on a lifeboat before he perished at sea a few hours later. She told her family members that he was brave during the night of the tragedy, helping other children get onto lifeboats as the ship was sinking. Adal gave birth to their son in December 1912.

One Arab family on board the Titanic was the Tu’mah family from the village of Tibneen, which included Hinnah Yusuf Razi Darwish Tu’mah and her two children Mariyam and Jirjis, who were only ages 9 and 7 at the time. Hinnah had gotten on board the Titanic to reunite with her husband Darwish who was already living near Silver City in Michigan where he had worked in farming. 

According to family members, just minutes before the ship had hit the iceberg, daughter Mariyam had gotten lost on the ship. After Hinnah had learned that the ship would be sinking, she relentlessly searched for her daughter on the ship before finding her in one of the cabins. Mariyam told family members years later that she recalls having run off to watch a dance event in first class as her mother was looking for her.

The Tu’mah family were eventually assisted onto a lifeboat by Edward John Smith, the captain of the ship, according to all three of their testimonies and other witnesses. The family, along with other survivors waited hours on the lifeboats before the Carpathia had come to their rescue. The children recall being served hot chocolate as soon as they boarded the ship and their mother crying severely throughout the entire experience. 

Adal Nasrallah was only 14 years old when she survived the Titanic’s sinking. Her husband Niqula died on board.

Hinnah and husband Darwish eventually reunited days later. He had heard of the news regarding the Titanic but was not aware that his family was on board until Hinnah had gotten a hold of him. The couple went on to have three more children, including a son who would eventually become the mayor in the city of Burton, Michigan.

One recognized tale in the West is the story of Isidor and Ida Straus, the German-American couple that had refused to leave each other’s side as the ship was sinking. In the 1997 movie, they were depicted laying on a bed comforting each other during the ship’s last moment. According to Elias, there was also an Arab couple that had done the same thing:

Newlyweds Butrus Khalil al-Khuri and his wife Zahiyah Badr Khalil from the town of Hardin had also died together, after Zahiyah had refused to board a life boat and leave her husband behind.  

One notable survivor on the Titanic was an Arab American woman who had already lived in the states and was on her way back after her son had passed away in Greater Syria.  Sha’ninah Shahin Yusuf Wihbah, from the village of Tuhum, not only survived, but she went on to be one of the founders of the JOY cone company, which now produces and distribute cake, sugar and waffle cones across the country.

Elias notes that the majority of the Arab passengers that traveled on the ship were in third class. As of now, she has found one family that traveled in second class and only one individual male who traveled in first class. 

The name of the first class male is Hamad Hassab (Elias notes that his surname could’ve possibly been Hasaballah), who traveled with Henry Sleeper Harper and his wife.  Harper was a prominent and wealthy NY resident and Hassab had been hired as Harper’s guide and interpreter when they met in Egypt, Hassab’s home country. It is believed that his first class ticket was paid for by the Harpers.  

“One of the reasons I did the book is because these people died and were left without names or the names they left with weren’t their names,” Elias stated. “This is an aspect of American history and Arab history. Instead of eliminating us it makes you realize that we were also part of the same catastrophes as everyone else.”

Elias’ book can be purchased via email at atlasbooks@gmail.com. Address the email to Ms. Samar Haddad, the publisher at Atlas Publishing and Distribution.