In early June, Susie Madrak posted about the outrage sparked by the Kushners’ $4.7 billion plans to develop one of Albania’s most pristine sites into a luxury resort. "Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets — and the internet” to protest the development, “with protesters demanding the government cancel the project and chanting ‘Ivanka, go home,’" she wrote.
The Albanians are still furious. Now, the “Flamingo Revolution,” named in honor of the beautiful creatures that inhabit the nature reserves Ivanka and Jared think should be theirs to do whatever they want with, has turned into something much bigger: a movement to take down the entire government.
"In February 2024, led by Prime Minister Edi Rama of the center-left Socialist Party, Albania’s parliament passed Law 21/2024, which allows the National Territory Council to grant permits for luxury tourist resorts anywhere in the country, even in protected landscapes. Three days later, Kushner went public with plans to create two luxury developments in the region, including a resort on Sazan, a protected nature zone and one of Albania’s only major islands," Mother Jones explained.
This week, hundreds of thousands of Albanians protested in Tirana, the capital, to pressure Rama to resign, Wired reported. Albanian expats in Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Greece hit the streets with solidarity protests.
The protests have now become “a revolt against the status quo and the political establishment that has ruled Albania for the past 36 years,” as per Mother Jones. “It is a protest against corruption, and oligarchy.”
It has also united people “across the political spectrum,” Mother Jones said. “Nightly rallies at the Boulevard of Martyrs are family-friendly, with a dedicated children’s drawing area run by local artists and volunteers, and a ‘people’s podium’ where citizens can voice their discontent.” Given that Albania has just 2.3 million residents, its 100,000 protesters is the equivalent of 12.7 million in the U.S., according to Mother Jones.
“It doesn’t appear as though the movement will lose steam anytime soon,” Mother Jones said.
Let’s hope that is one thing the overly entitled Ivanka and Jared can’t kill.
