Dr. Josiane Abisab
Appearances
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
I don't want to pass judgment on this. I think it's, you know, it's very, it's a human, strong emotion. And he probably had a lot of different conflicting emotions. He was scared whether he was going to make it.
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
The Titanic tragedy is very humbling. It's a reminder of how small we are in the face of nature, the hubris of the Titanic builders who boasted it as unsinkable. And it's also a very interesting story about human choice. It's like a Greek tragedy where some made heroic choices to save others rather than themselves. Others chose to play music till the end. Some kneeled and prayed.
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
Some were motivated by chivalry and honor, others by survival. And as such, you know, these are enduring human stories that we in a way still grapple with today. There's an Irish philosopher by the name of Jack Foster who said we're all passengers on Titanic.
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
At the very end, when they realized that they were doomed, that they weren't going to be saved, one of them said, let's all break out in the traditional Lebanese folkloric dance called the Dapke. And so they all, you know, lined up together shoulder upon shoulder and started dancing this traditional folkloric dance.
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
My great-grandfather apparently led Shanina and Banura to Collapsible Sea, which was the before-to-last lifeboat being lowered and kind of pushed them into that lifeboat. At that moment, before they went down, Shanina offered to disguise my great-grandfather, her cousin, in women's clothing. Like with her coat and with her hat. And he refused and said, I was born a man. I will die as a man.
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
And then he cut a lock of his hair and gave it to her and said, give this to my wife, Marta, when you go back to the village and tell her that I love her. He knew he was going to die. Shanina said that she last saw him wear his cork life vest and then jumping into the ocean with the other male cousins trying to swim to safety. That's what she said.
Titanic: Ship of Dreams
8. Every Man for Himself
And yes, he could swim because he grew up on the Mediterranean. His village was literally within a few hundred meters of the Mediterranean, so he could swim. But I don't think he died drowning because he was wearing a cork life vest. He most likely died from hypothermia.