E-Mail 'Honoring Balaban Hoja: A Hero for Armenian Orphans' To A Friend

Email a copy of 'Honoring Balaban Hoja: A Hero for Armenian Orphans' to a friend

* Required Field






Separate multiple entries with a comma. Maximum 5 entries.



Separate multiple entries with a comma. Maximum 5 entries.


E-Mail Image Verification

Loading ... Loading ...
Meliné Karakashian

Meliné Karakashian

Meliné Karakashian was born in Beirut, Lebanon. After graduating from high school, she immigrated to the U.S., established residence in New Jersey, and continued her education, obtaining an Ed.S. in school and community psychology, a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology, and a practicing psychology license. She has volunteered to help victims of the 1988 Armenian earthquake, the Karabagh War, and September 11. Her work has been recognized by the presidents of Armenia, the American Psychological Association, and the New Jersey Mental Health Association, among others. She is the recipient of two lecturing Fulbrights to Yerevan State University. She has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and two books. Komitas: A Psychological Study is her most recent work.

10 Comments

  1. We knew him well ;Who didn’t? We knew his family as well .His son Sarkis was a master radio repair man.His daughter Naomi was a next door neighbor. your story takes me back to Haleb where Balaban hoja was a titan . May rest in peace.

  3. I am happy to read this article. I am the youngest grandson of Balaban Koja, Rev Nerses Balabanian. Thank you for writing this article. I wonder where is Kentir’s fmaily today in the USA? I would love to see his fmaily story.

  4. Very powerful story of courage and commitment. I enjoyed every word of it

  6. They don’t make many men like this any more and those that they do seem to be too few and far between.
    What a great story about a true HEROS!!

    I was deeply touched by two things:
    1. Him learning the street culture while selling cigarettes, “…attacking the enemy before being attacked.”

    2.Him rescuing the boy Khentir from forced Islamization.

    Both invoked goosebumps and deeply touched my heart.

    This generation of Armenians were truly the best of mankind.

  7. A legend Balaban Hoja was a man of strong personality at the same time a funny person with his so many real life stories. He and his wife (Siranoush Anserian – was my grandfather’s elder sister) used to come and visit us (My Grand mother’s house)in Beirut. I still remember him and aunty Siranoush while advising me to pay attention to my education and manners, at the same time offering me different kind of “Aintabi” sweets brought from Aleppo, They are part of our life story. May God Bless their Souls.

  8. I am amazed how we Armenians are intertwined by blood to each other and how we have common history , as if we are one big family.
    Tremendous appreciation to the heros and every Armenian during and after this horrible butchery . May all R.I.P.
    May love and peace be the subjects of talk and reality for now and our future generations.

  9. I also had a math teacher (Balabanian) in Guertasiratz school (Aleppo) in late 1950s and Early 1960s. I am wondering if he is the same one in this article?
    If he was, I did not know his background. What a courageous person.

  10. Thank you Ms Karakashian for presenting Balaban Hoja with these stories.
    I am one of the ten surviving grandchildren. His strong personality has left a lasting impression with everyone he had contact with. I hear this even to this day, when I meet someone who knew him. My lasting impression of him is when he visited us in Beirut and playfully bounced us on his lap, as he would make up math problems and demand the correct answers. When we gave him the correct answer he wanted to know how we solved it….may be the reason why I became an engineer. Today our society is yearning for principled, dedicated leaders that would inspire us to the betterment of the Armenian people and humankind in general. These first hand stories hopefully inspire us all to higher, principled lives. Thank you, and RIP Balaban Hoja.

Comments are closed.