Tannūs Butrus-Ka'wī was a passenger on the Titanic.
Background[]
Tannūs Butrus-Ka'wī was born in Zgharta, Syria, of what is now Lebanon since 1920. Tannūs arrived in the year 1891. He had one sister, named Jasmine.
The family was close with their neighbours. Their son, Hannā Mikā'īl Māmā, was close friends with Tannūs. Jasmine was also the love of his life and he had a large crush on her, so he was heartbroken when the day arrived that Jasmine and Tannūs parents left for America around 1909, but without Tannūs. Thus Tannūs spent some time with Hannā, doing some farming and practicing their handling of their rifles.
A few years later, Tannūs was 21 year old, a married man and a shoemaker. But the country was in a quandary. Vexation brew between the Lebanese and the Ottomans who ruled over their land and made their lives difficult with certain rules. In 1912, Tannūs showed he was a fighter when some Ottomans raded his friend’s farm and took over his cattle, it was up to Tannūs to get them back. So he took a riffle and with his blood boiling, dashed to the place where these Ottomans lived and waited for them until they got home. Once they did, he held the riffle to their heads and tried to make them give the cattle back. They refused, so he shot them one by one.
After his actions, Tannūs couldn’t stay in Syria so his friend gave him enough money to secure a trip to New York for him and his family. They could then go on to Waterbury in Connecticut. When leaving his homeland, Tannūs was with his wife and children, also accompagnied by Hannā who was understandably more than happy to come along. The Butrus family regarded Hannā as a fine, suitable husband for Jasmine so they would approve of him to marry her. Tannūs' father, now named Thomas Betros, was a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The acquiantances were also in the company of Sarkīs Mu’awwad, another young man from Zgharta who wanted to seek another live in the United States. Perhaps the Nakid family was part of this group too. On 25 March, they went.
On their way to the harbor that would await their vessel of transport for the planned Atlantic crossing, Tannus’ family got held up in Marseille because his daughter had chickenpox. His wife decided to stay behind with their children while he continued with the rest of the people.
Titanic[]
With them, he was off to Cherbourg, where they prepared to take voyage on the Titanic on the 10th of April. In the evening, she came over from England and waited till two tenders brought the steerage and the other passengers over to the large liner. For their tickets, Tannus and his friend were provided with an above standard Third Class trip.
Titanic’s overall calm Maiden Voyage was rudely interrupted by an iceberg on the late night of April 14. The iceberg was tall but not very visible until they were too close. Titanic’s rudder was swung to starboard and her engines run full astern but she hit. The impact made some small gashes in her side on starboard. Now, the water came in fast. Titanic was in a situation of trouble
This is also what Captain Smith soon found out over the next 20 minutes. With shipbuilder Thomas Andrews, he estimated what the damage meant and if Titanic could withold. According to Andrews, she could not, not even with the pumps. Too many watertight bulkeheads had been breached. For this reason, Titanic would founder and Smith gave the order to prepare the lifeboats shortly after midnight of April 15.
How Tannūs and his compagnions experienced the collision, remains vague. Once they were on the Boat Deck, Tannous tried to get on a lifeboat, along with Sarkīs Mu’awwad. His family always believed that he was shot, by Captain Smith no less, which seems totally not aligned with Smith’s character or behaviour that night. Of the trio, only Hannā was lucky enough to be saved. He reportedly was in the shelter of another Syrian woman.
Whether the story about the shooting is true or not, remains to be seen. In any case, Titanic would go down and break apart. At 2:20 A.M, the liner slipped underneath the ocean, taking hundreds of souls to their watery grave. Among them were Sarkīs and Tannūs. The White Star Line was unable to find their bodies.
Of the trio, only Hannā Mikā'īl Māmā survived. He reportedly was in the shelter of another Syrian woman or perhaps even Madeleine Astor, which could be a fabrication he made by himself. He later on went to Philadelphia where he settled down.