The Untold Story of the Lebanese on the Titanic

The Untold Story of the Lebanese on Titanic

“We share the pain but not the glory”

Did you know that there were 154 Lebanese on board the Titanic and that 125 perished? They were third class passengers leaving their Ottoman controlled villages in Mount Lebanon to better their circumstances. They had heard the success stories of returning immigrants from America who told that the “streets were paved in gold” and they were seeking freedom in the New World. Instead, they became prisoners of fate.

If you would like to learn more about the Lebanese on the Titanic, click on the maroon-colored link above, which is a pdf of a presentation given on April 17, 2015 at the Vancouver Public Library, hosted by the Lebanese Canadian Society of British Columbia and sponsored by the International Lebanese Titanic Committee and the World Lebanese Cultural Union.

The Titanic and New York

Who Knew?

Unlike Halifax that was dubbed the “City of Sorrows” for its grim role in the recovery and burial of the Titanic victims, New York City became notorious as the city that welcomed the 713 survivors. After a three-day journey hampered by fog, ice and rough seas, the RMS Carpathia docked at 9:30pm on April 18, 1912 at New York’s Pier 54. The rescue ship was greeted by tens of thousands of people anxiously waiting under a heavy rain. “At the pier, rich men, poor men stood shoulder to shoulder, all of them united in the hope of seeing the faces of those they loved,” Wyn Craig Wade wrote in “The Titanic: End of a Dream.” “People at the pier began weeping quietly. There was no hysteria; everyone remained in control.”

The Halifax-Titanic Connection

Why is my great grandfather buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia?

Dubbed “The City of Sorrow”, the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago, had an enormous impact on Halifax, Nova Scotia. Although, this maritime city lies about 700 miles northwest of the Titanic sinking site, Halifax became the epicenter of the Titanic recovery efforts. After the Carpathia had rescued 700 passengers and sailed to New York, the White Star Line dispatched the first of four Canadian ships to search for bodies after the sinking.