Join me as I begin to explore the lives of Middle Eastern immigrants on Titanic, something I should have done long ago. The story of Titanic’s “Miracle Boy” is not oft-told, perhaps because it’s so heartbreaking, but the long and triumphant life of Michael Shafiq Peter Yusuf (Joseph is the Americanized version of the last name) is beautiful in its resiliency. Traveling on Titanic with his young mother and a tiny baby sister, Michael was separated from them in the chaos but managed to make it onto another lifeboat, reuniting with his family on Carpathia. What followed is marred with tragedy for many members of the family, but through their story we see the stories of immigration, Syrian families, third class, and the daily struggles of poverty.
Fore more on the Syrian passengers, try and find a copy of Leila Elias’ detailed work: https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Dream_and_Then_the_Nightmare.html?id=gSa1ygAACAAJ
For a photo of older Michael: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6992235/michael-peter-joseph
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