Sāfiyah Ibrāhīm was a passenger on the Titanic.
Background[]
Sāfiyah Ibrāhīm was born as a native of Shwayhad, Syria, on the 10th of February 1894 to Ibrāhīm Hālūt and Mariyam Ibrāhīm. The Ottomans occupied the area which later would be the Lebanon. Sāfiyah had at least two brothers and one sister. She lost them both at a very young age. Her sister was married, living in Ayn al-Rāhib. She could join her household now that she was an orphan. Also from Shwayhad was Wassūf Ibrāhīm who became Sāfiyah’s husband when Sāfiyah was still young.
On 9 August 1908, a daughter was born to them, Zakiyah. Sāfiyah’s brothers had gone to Pennsylvania in America. Sāfiyah with her husband now wanted to go there too, but decided to let her relatives look after their daughter.
At Ellis Island in New York, they were scrutinized on not having contracted anything but Sāfiyah had an eye disease. Out of fear of contagion, they told her she had to return to Syria. Some relatives in America then said to her that she should try to get healed in Trinidad for the time being. She did so. In 1911, she wanted to re-enter the American country but they still felt she wasn’t in good condition so they made her go back to Syria. She complied.
She didn’t give up however. Having lived in Syria with family for a while, she soon wanted to make another attempt to reach the USA which came in April 1912. Her journey would take her to Beirut first, from where a ship could provide her passage to Marseilles in France. There would be health check-ups for migrants there as well but she must have passed them as she could go on to Cherbourg in the north of the country. Her destination would be Greensburg, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania where Wassūf was now a resident. He was a metal worker for the Kelly & Jones Company which produced steel and brass.
Titanic[]
The ship that could bring her over to the other side of the Atlantic was none other than the impressive and all new Titanic, who had just started her Maiden Voyage from Southampton in the afternoon of April 10. She was there in Cherbourg around 7 P.M. and took more passengers from two tenders. Sāfiyah started her crossing in Third Class.
On April 14, 20 minutes before midnight, the iceberg collision happened. Everything went right on Titanic’s trip until this massive iceberg was spotted when she not too far away. There was no time to steer Titanic completely around the obstacle, not with her engines in reverse either. She hit, through which her starboard side had gotten damaged badly, with narrow openings appearing which led water through. At the time, Sāfiyah fell from her bed which got her out of her sleep. Some passengers in nearby cabins went up to investigate and Sāfiyah noticed they stayed away. Now she climbed the stairs too to see what was amiss. On the Boat Deck, she was spotted and grabbed by the arm.
Allegedly she was thrown overboard by mistake while the actual aim was to get her into a boat. Then she was picked up by a lifeboat close by so she survived. She remembered hearing revolver shots.
At 2:18 A.M, Titanic’s stern was up in the air and Sāfiyah saw the lights going out. Titanic went to the bottom of the ocean moments later. This moment would never leave her mind for the rest of her life.
After the sinking[]
The RMS Carpathia had responded to Titanic’s distress call during the sinking, so she came as fast as she could. She couldn’t get there sooner than 4:00 A.M. With Titanic long gone, she could do nothing other than picking up everyone who survived the sinking. When she was done, she set course for New York. Sāfiyah needed to rest in Saint Vincent Hospital when she disembarked from Carpathia on April 18. Financial aid was later given by charity and relief funds so she could finish her travel and be united with her husband.
There was quite a commotion when she arrived at the station of Greensburg with her train. A large crowd awaited her, as well as her brother.
Later life[]
To integrate into American society, the Ibrāhīm couple naturalised their names. From now on, they would go through life as Joseph and Sophie Abraham. On October 4, 1913 they welcomed a son, Zackie Halaut. Daughter Zakīyah stayed in Syria for a while but when she grew up, she lived in Trinidad.
The sinking of the Titanic was not the only shock moment in her life. On Saturday, June 5, 1915, the Greensburg Daily Tribune reported that Sophie Abraham was a victim of assault on Wednesday, a couple of days ago, while Joseph was out of the house, at his job. A man named Sam Abraham, said to be a small storekeeper in Mount Pleasant, came to her home and wanted to do improper things to her and upon opposing him, he lashed out. Joseph heard about the terrible case from his wife directly and immediately rushed out to make a case against Sam to charge him for the crime. Two days later, the culprit was arrested.
Sophie became widowed in 1952 when losing Wassūf. While refraining from talking about the Titanic tragedy for most of her life, one time she was willing to let someone interiview her, on April 14 in 1967. The Greensburg-Herald Tribune conducted the interview. Titanic's demise had made a large impact on her life and the screams of the people that were dieing in the ice cold water still gave her the shrivels. She survived her son who went in 1975.
Sophie had gotten 82 years old when she passed away on December 11, 1976. Her resting place is at Greensburgs Westmoreland County Memorial Park.