Hammad Hassab

Notes

References and Sources

Credits

Comment and discuss

1. Is it clear as to what ever became of Hammad Hassab? Ed: See:
2. Anyone have information on Henry Harper's Egyptian "dragoman," who accompanied the Harpers (and their dog) on the Titanic? Why was he called "handsome" and "mysterious," with passengers steering clear of him? I've looked through my various Titanic sources, but find nothing more. Anyone with info or a suggestion on a place to look--much appreciated
3. This is the first time I see there was an egyptian passenger on the ship, in first class even asserted that there were no Egyptians or Arabs passengers on board. This is of course what the company said to escape the murder scandal. Some Arabs were shot, and the majority of the people who died that night were the third-class Arabs.“ Seems like most authors who research into the arab passengers stumble upon such claims one way or another. Though I do wonder why the WSL denied arab passengers... Read full post
4. According to his ET bio, Hassab was the Harper's 'Dragoman' which meant a translator, interpreter and general guide; he had experience as a tour guide and was hired through Thomas Cook. As to him travelling as a First Class passenger, I assume it would have been in a similar "rank" as Guggenheim's valet Victor Giglio. I am guessing that Hammad would have dined with other servants of First Class passengers. He was rescued with the Harpers on Lifeboat #3. Some Arabs were shot, and the majority of the people who died that night were the... Read full post
5. Yes I know. I find it so disappointing when such claims are spread as facts. I feel like the true stories of the arab survivors are still hidden somewhere. I can’t wrap my head around how such untruths aren’t questioned by the families and how researchers just copied their words without actually checking if it adds up. But I also wonder why the White Starline claimed there were no arab passengers on board, when in facts there were like a hundreds or so..
6. There are no 'hidden true stories' about the Middle Eastern passengers on board the Titanic any more than there are about the Scandinavian, Irish or Eastern European passengers. Almost... Read full post
7. Could be true but in the original quote the WSL also denied that there were Egyptians on board. But that could be because Hassab was the only Egyptian on board. While I don’t believe in shooting sprees or anti-arab conspiracies per se, I wouldn’t go as far as to say all of the reports must be unfounded when the actual survivor stories have not been told yet. Almost all reports we have seen about their experience are negatively connoted. The survivors from Collapsible C probably witnessed „warning shots“ fired by an Officer late during the sinking, but they never actually related the story in proper manner, we only have untrustworthy „newspaper statements“ which make it hard for us to assess the claims Scandinavian passengers didn’t speak English but they still had that european looks to them that might... Read full post
8. To some extent that was true in 1912 but only as far as normal voyage conditions were... Read full post
9. Yes I think the chances of finding any new pieces of information become more and more unlikely. But we never know if the survivors might have written down their experiences in personal diaries or in correspondences with others which haven’t surfaced yet. So my hope is to discover something like that. And since Hammad Hassab was in the first class as an Arab it is very exciting to me. I wish to find out more about his experience on board, apart from his survival. But as the people of his time mentioned, he was a „mysterious“ person so I doubt he left many traces of what he witnessed or felt. If I remember correctly both Lightoller and Lowe stated that the steerage passengers who tried to rush the boat were „dagos“ or italian. But if I’m not mistaken, there weren’t even that many italians on board (11 passengers I think) so I doubt it was them who were rushing the boats. The only other race I assume they could have mistaken as italians would be the Arabs.
10. The problem with that assumption is that Lowe left the Titanic on board Lifeboat #14 around 01:25 am and while there was some disturbance around that boat, I doubt if he could have identified the ethnic features - real or assumed - in the limited light and under those circumstances. Also, Lightoller was active only on the port side and a lot of Middle Eastern people were likely around Collapsible C on the starboard side. My theory is that those references to "Dagoes", "Crazed Italians" etc had more to do with the perceived behaviour - excitability and near... Read full post
11. It was possibly a mix of people with different ethnic backgrounds. Not to forget that just a few metres away from boat 14 there was Officer... Read full post
12. I was talking about the prevalent changing atmosphere of the time of people of the so-called "Third World" towards the West in general and not specifically of the Arabs on board the Titanic. While that feeling was certainly there, it was not uniform and showed wide variations depending on the countries involved, which included the Indian Subcontinent where I am originally from. What I was saying that Arabs and others on board the Titanic could have been part of that ongoing change of attitude - like a microcosm of a much larger society - and that in turn would have influenced the mindset of the survivors from among them and the relatives/families of the victims. We cannot quantify or obtain "evidence" for prevailing collective subconscious feelings within an Ethnic group but can merely wonder... Read full post

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