Watch as Peter Doocy interviews Peter Lumaj about his journey from a refugee fleeing communism to becoming a successful attorney and a potential gubernatorial candidate. Arriving with nothing but the shirt on his back and not knowing any English, Peter worked his way through school, educated himself, became a successful immigration attorney, and now wants to serve his new country that provided the freedom and opportunity for him to succeed. [Watch the entire interview here]
Well, we had to escape from Albania. Albania was a Communist country, and anyone who dared to even think about escaping Albania at that time would have either been executed or imprisoned for a long time. So my brothers and I, we decided to search for freedom and opportunity because pretty much the government was running our lives. And we believe that we had certainly got given rise that we should search for and eventually made it to the United States and did find the American Dream.
After we escaped, government agents showed up and they rounded up my family. That includes my parents, my brothers and sisters, who I left behind nieces and nephews and took them into a concentration camp. My father passed away in that camp. He never made it out of the camp. But I firmly believe that he sacrificed his life so that his sons could live in freedom. And I appreciate that every single day.