Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | December 9, 2019 | wbjournal.com Coming from a hard- working background with little opportunity, Albanian immigrants have thrived in Central Massachusetts T o understand the Albanian community in Worcester, you need to understand some basic facts about Albania. It was part of the Soviet Union up until that empire's fall in 1991. Following the dissolution of the USSR, Albania had internal struggles that ramped up to armed conflict in 1997. Around this time, the first group of immigrants came to Worcester from Albania. "I le Albania at a time of war. We le war behind, and we came here," said Greta Bajrami, CEO and co-founder of Golden Group Roofing in West- borough. "I feel as much American as anyone else. But when you've seen things and seen horror, it makes things different in you. It makes you run faster. It makes you work harder." For people who lived for years under Soviet oppression and then during a time of unrest, America is a place to apply yourself, Bajrami said. When Bajrami started Golden Group Roofing with her husband Freddy Campoverde, they did not know any- thing about roofing but they saw an op- portunity. ey dove into the business in 2012 by doing subcontracting work for other roofing companies and now do more than 300 roofs a year. "When I came here at 9 years old, I brought that immigrant hope," said Bajrami. "is is the only place I could have made my dreams come true." Waiting for opportunity But what spurred Albanian immi- grants toward a dream of owning busi- nesses can partially be linked to that Soviet background, Bajrami said. When it was a communist country, there never was a question of whether you were go- ing to work hard, she said, because you just had no choice. Not only did you have to work hard, but you never had an opportunity to really strive for more. When people got to Worcester, they PHOTO/COURTESTY OF GOLDEN GROUP ROOFING F O C U S I M M I G R A N T S From communist reality to the American Dream BY SAM BONACCI Special to the Worcester Business Journal Albanian immigrants Greta Bajrami (sitting left) and her husband Freddy Campoverde (standing left) founded Golden Group Roofing in 2012 with four employees. They are now up to nine, including immigrants Denis Bajrami (standing right) and Ximena Areiza (sitting right).

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