It reads like any American dream come true, the story of 13-year-old Harry Bajraktari and his family, who came to the United States in 1970 to chase a better life in the Promised Land. “My parents, Mete and Ziza Bajraktari, met and got married in Kosova during difficult times in a country immersed in political turmoil, persecution, genocide, and economic crises, but they had a vision for a better future for themselves and their kids,” says Bajraktari.
He was born in Vranoc, Peje, Kosova, into an Albanian family with a long and distinguished history of fighting for centuries to preserve their individuality, origin, and identity. Their journey, in times of adversity and uncertainty, changed and shaped their future. Bajraktari remembers looking at the Manhattan skyline from the small airplane window before landing at JFK airport. “A huge and magnificent city lay in front of us; it was a different world.
We were living a fairy tale,” he says. Adjusting to the bursting city and the new country was difficult. But his parents were determined and hard workers. “As a kid, I had to accompany my mom to work every day until she learned her route to her job at Wall Street. She did not speak English and could not read. She had to memorize the train stops and the floors in the high-rise buildings, where she worked as a janitor,” Bajraktari says. The Bajraktaris took the opportunity America offered them and turned it into something positive for them and their community.
He was still a high school student when he mapped out his business ideas and the road to his success. His sharp mind and daring attitude helped Bajraktari get a job in real estate and learn the ins and outs of the business. He founded his own company, Bajraktari Realty Management Corp., in the early 1980s.
Bajraktari was the founder and publisher of Illyria a bilingual Albanian-English newspaper in New York that was instrumental in introducing the Albanian cause to the American political arena. He did not stop at the newspaper; he became one of the most renowned activists of the Albanian American community. He is the founding member and Vice Chairman of the National Albanian American Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for Albanians in the Balkans.
The war in Kosova and the NATO aerial air strikes propelled Bajraktari to go to Washington, D.C., and meet with many American politicians, including presidents Clinton and Bush, pleading for help in stopping the genocide against his people. At the same time, he continued to support grassroots movements and lobbying efforts to finance several Albanian initiatives and help many Albanians who were fleeing in masses from the horrors of war. His grandfather, a man well known for his charitable soul, would be proud.
He used his considrable success to assist quite a few new emigrants, who owe their first start in the country to a job in his enterprises and a home in his apartments. He also financed the construction and renovation of many homes in Kosova that were destroyed, bombed, or burned down during the war by the Serbs.
Bajraktari has played an important role in the independence of Kosova, the youngest country in Europe. He considers Kosova’s independence and Albania’s democracy a fair trade for his efforts during the years.
Bajraktari cherishes a special relationship with Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel of New York, who represents his district in the U.S. Congress. He had approached him in 1989 when the situation in his native Kosova was deteriorating. Workers were being fired and people were being persecuted and killed by the Serbian government. Congressman Engel was receptive, and since then he has been the best ambassador for Albanian issues; he later co-founded the Albanian Caucus in the House of Representatives. In 2005, the Municipality of Peja named one of its main boulevards “Honorable Congressman Eliot Engel Boulevard” in his honor.
Bajraktari continues to remain one of the most influential forces in post-war Kosova and one of its largest private investors from the United States. He purchased and invested in Mete Bajraktari Plaza, one of the largest department stores in Peja, as well as the Wood and Steel Manufacturing Plant, which was later converted into the Bajraktari Shopping Center, comprising forty acres and housing twenty stores. The Bajraktari Group has created more than 500 local jobs in Peja and was the first to attract other foreign investments such as French, Norwegian, and U.S businesses in Peja.
The Mete Bajraktari Plaza—approximately 50,000 square-feet—was named after Bajraktari’s father. It’s a landmark in Peja, and has a historical significance to the Bajraktari family’s triumphant journey. The department store used to be called 17 Nentori named after November 17, 1945, when Peja was taken by the Communist Serbs. The Serbs arrested Bajraktari’s uncle, Zenel Bajraktari, and his cousins, Hajdin Zeka and Fazlli Rama, as well as his father, Mete. The Serbs executed his uncle and cousins later that month, while 17-year-old Mete was forced to join the Serbian army for eighteen months. Sixty years later the Mete Bajraktari Plaza stands tall as a testament of the Bajraktari family’s resistance and perseverance.
President George W. Bush recognized Harry Bajraktari for his efforts and dedication in strengthening the American nation through volunteer work. The President of Kosova honored Bajraktari’s activities with a medal during the celebration of 100 years of Albanian Independence. He is an Honor Citizen of the City of Bujan, Bajram Curri, Albania, and has numerous other awards, medals, and certificates of recognition from many human rights organizations and the governments of Albania, Kosova, and the United States.