Rashīd Al-Hāj 'Adb al-Husayn Bazzī was a passenger on Titanic.
Background[]
Rashīd Al-Hāj 'Adb al-Husayn Bazzī was native of Bint Jbayl, close to Tibnîne, in what would now be South Lebanon, but was still Syria in that era, under Ottoman control. 'Abd a-Husayn Al-Hāj Sulaymān Bazzī was his father and he had two other sons, named Mūsá and Habīb. There is not much information on his background and early life, but in 1912, he was a married man and had two children, whose identities aren’t known. He wanted to go to Detroit in Michigan and had family in the United States, so he likely wanted to see them to undertake this journey.
Titanic[]
Rashīd was 30 years old when he stepped aboard this ship in Cherbourg, to join Third Class on the new Titanic, which would be at port to take on more passengers at 7:00 P.M. on the 10th of April.
For Rashīd, the Maiden Voyage of Titanic must have been a pleasant one but this quickly changed. The ship had a sudden shock when it ran against an iceberg on the night of April 14, just 20 minutes before midnight, which made the ship’s fate inevitable. Water could now enter at various places in the hull and the sea level within the ship rose fast.
When Captain Smith was informed by Thomas Andrews, he was getting very overwhelmed. The ship, that he and many others deemed to be unsinkable, was now being filled with water fast and her watertight compartments wouldn’t hold. She would certainly be doomed according to Andrews. Just after midnight, on April 15, the captain told his crew to let the boats be lowered to deck level and to rouse and collect the passengers.
When it was 2:20 A.M, Titanic’s struggle was over and slid down the sea with her stern in the air, after breaking in two. Rashīd Bazzī was not among the saved and lost his life in this big maritime disaster.
No body was found. There were relief funds that helped out his widow and children financially.