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In, yet, another case, it was first reported in the Arabic newspapers, that a well-known Syrian merchant by the name of Niqula Nasr of Cairo, Egypt, had perished in the sinking. The misidentification occurred when one of the passenger names taken from incoming telegraphs reached New York as "Nicholas Nasser," the name published in the New York Times on April 17th. Mir'at al-Gharb reported that the wirelesses included the names of "Niqula Nasr and his wife" and that if this name was correct then this passenger would be the wholesaler from Cairo. (7) According to the newspaper there was a strong possibility that this was the same person since it had received word from him on the 23rd of January that he was planning a trip to the United States. However, on April 19th the same newspaper made a correction identifying Niqula as the well known Niqula Nasr Allah of Zahla and that his wife had survived. On 19 April, al-Huda_reported the same information.

As the Arabic newspapers attempted to update the names, readers were reminded that as more information was gathered corrections would be made and that any and all names and details of passengers would continue to be published. (8) One newspaper stated that it would not continue to list the names of the Syrian passengers as they appeared in the American press as the tendency to anglicize the Arabic may render them inaccurate, thereby causing unjustified apprehension and concern. (9) In its April 23rd issue, Al-Bayan printed only a few of the victims' names suspecting that others could have been incorrect. Warily, al-Huda and_Mir'at al-Gharb published the first lists of Syrian passenger names. (10)

Moreover, the Arabic newspapers were more than ready to assist with queries and to clear up discrepancies whenever they could. Letters sent into the newspapers would help in clearing uncertainties. In some instances, a passenger was identified as a result of first hand knowledge by a survivor of the Titanic. Such was the case with survivor Sha ninah Jirjis Wihbah who clarified the name of one of her relatives with whom she had boarded the ship. On her behalf, Sim an Habib of Tuham sent a letter to al-Huda on May 2nd to make the clarification and confirm the death of Hanna Tannus Mu awwad "Bu Shahin." (11) Furthermore, as late as May 10th, survivor Mariyam Assaf was identified as Zad Assaf, wife of Quzma Dahir and from the village of Kafar Mishki, in the district of Rashaya al-Wadi; this was in response to a query to Mir'at al-Gharb from those asking "Who is Mariyam Assaf from Kafar Mishki?" From Ottawa, a letter dated May 3rd from Jirjis Khalil Ibrahim and published on the 10th gave sole survivor from Kafar Mishki Mariyam Assaf's response as to what were the correct names of those passengers from her village, all having perished in the sinking. (12)

Individuals would provide information to or ask questions of the newspapers, that revealed destination points or simply verified passenger names. Such was the case with a resident of Lake Flaj, Arkansas, who sent a letter informing the paper that Hanna Jirjis Anton, proprietor of the Syrian hotel in Marseilles, had written to Sim an Atta Allah that his daughter and son-in-law had indeed left for the U.S. on April 8th from Marseilles to board the Titanic. (13) Another was al-Shaykh Ahmad Hamzi, resident of Detroit, Michigan who, upon requesting information on passenger Mustafa Nasr, informed readers that Nasr was on his way to the city. (14) In addition, on April 27th Mir'ah al-Gharb interviewed survivor Nasal" Qasim Abu-Al-Muna, who verified the names and death of two relatives who had traveled with him: 18-year-old Farid Qasim Husayn Abd al-Khaliq and 11-year-old Husayn Mahmud Husayn. From al-Bayan readers learned from Amin Isma il Balmani of Fredericksburg in a note of condolence to Husayn's family that Husayn's father was Mahmud Husayn. The 11-year-old had been on his way to visit his father.

The Arabic press received and disseminated information to the community. For instance, the Syrians learned of the American Senate Hearings on the case of the Titanic, of the investigation as to the sinking, of reports of other ships that may have heard the call for help and of the progress of the ships sent out to recover the bodies. Worldwide news was made local, especially when the recovery of the bodies of Niqula Nasr Allah (15) and Dahir Abu Shadid was reported in al-Huda's April 24th issue. (16) Earlier, on the 13th, the same newspaper reported that on the previous day, Halifax authorities had received information from Captain Peter Johnson that his ship had recovered four bodies, one of which was that of an unidentified fifteen-year-old Syrian girl.

Another instance occurred on May 4th when al-Bayan reported that one of the recovered bodies could be that of Syrian third-class passenger Yusif Tannus or Sin an Butrus. In addition, the paper reported that in Halifax, Ibrahim Arab and his children had seen the two recovered bodies of Yusif Jirjis and Sim an Butrus but were not permitted to claim them, al-Huda published their letter urgently asking for direct family members to claim the bodies as only immediate family would be permitted do so. (17)

Equally important were the reports about memorial services for the victims that allowed the community to mourn together. The massive funeral arrangements for Titanic victim Niqula Nasr Allah were announced in Mir'at al-Gharb on May 3rd and an invitation to the services and burial was issued to those members of the community who had not officially received one.

      Tomorrow, the body of the late Niqula Khalil Nasr
   Allah of Zahla, one of the victims of the sinking of the Titanic,
   will arrive in New York. It will be met by Sab Nasr Allah,
   cousin of the deceased, along with the family and friends. At
   2:00 p.m. next Sunday, the body will be taken to the Syrian
   Orthodox Cathedral for the prayer service. It will then be
   taken to its final resting place and laid to rest in peace and
   comfort beside the late Salam Nasr Allah, brother of Sab.
   Condolences go out to his widow, cousin and to the family.
   Death announcements have been distributed to the
   community. If not, this is an oversight and for those who did
   not receive one, please attend.

In vivid detail, al-Sa'ih_described for its readers the memorial service held for Niqula Khalil Nasr Allah and that members of the Syrian community had attended the services having come to pay their respects to the Nasr Allah family on the death of "al-shahid." (18) Bishop Rafa'el Hawaweeny of Brooklyn conducted the religious services. The casket, when taken for burial, was wrapped in white silk and strewn with flowers. At the site where he was buried, Tawfiq Fakhr read an emotional poem as an elegy dedicated to the young man. Condolences were then paid to his wife, cousin and family.

Utica's Ittihad al-Suri al-Khayriyyah held a mass and requiem for the souls of those who disappeared with the Titanic, performed by Father Lewis Latif. Following the services, a group of the Club's young men delivered an eulogy for the dead. The mourners then walked to the Syrian Club hall wearing black ribbons. (19) A memorial service was also held in Ottawa, Canada for the victims and a moving eulogy was delivered to the newlywed couple from Kafar Mishki. (20)

The above example demonstrates the significant role of the Arabic press in assisting a community, which sought information about fellow compatriots. The queries sent to the newspapers were printed and responses published. Those queries clarified information that was later released. Yet, it was the established clubs and associations in the community that would work together to perform their patriotic duty (American and Syrian) as a committee to receive and assist the Syrian survivors and to inform the community about the fate of the Syrians who had boarded the Titanic.

THE WORK OF THE SYRIAN CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS

By working jointly, the Syrian newspapers and the Syrian clubs and associations disseminated information to the community, assisted in general relief efforts and solicited donations. The following announcement was printed in the Arabic newspapers:

   The Syrian Emergency Committee
   Established [sic] for the Victims of the Titanic
   Last Thursday al-Muntada al-Suri al-Imriki and al-Nahdah
   al-Lubnaniyyah agreed to work as one [sic] on behalf of
   the victims of the grievous Titanic disaster. Representative
   committees of the two Clubs met at the premises of al-Muntada
   in Brooklyn and formed one committee.... (21)

One of the first commitments of the Emergency Committee was to attend to the needs of the Syrian survivors and to arrange for accommodations within the community upon their discharge by the American relief committees.