By Medea Benjamin
Protest against Ivanka Trump's luxury real estate projects, Tirana, Albania, June 3, 2026. HAMERALDI AGOLLI/AP
Have you heard about the Flamingo Revolution?
It is the extraordinary movement sweeping Albania against Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's plan to transform the country's only island, Sazan, into a $1.4 billion luxury resort for the ultra-rich. What began as a local environmental struggle has exploded into one of the largest protest movements Albania has seen since the fall of communism and has become a powerful reminder that ordinary people can still challenge billionaires and corrupt governments.
The movement takes its name from the flamingos and other wildlife that inhabit the protected wetlands surrounding the island. Demonstrators have taken to the streets carrying inflatable flamingos, Albanian flags, and banners reading "Albania Is Not for Sale" and "Cancel the Project." What started as a campaign to save an island has evolved into something much larger—a national movement demanding transparency, accountability, and an end to the corrupt practices that have allowed politically connected developers to treat the country as if it were theirs to sell.
Many Albanians were particularly angered by an interview in which Ivanka Trump described how she and Jared Kushner had "discovered" Sazan Island. She recalled that they had been sailing on a friend's yacht, swam to the island, hiked barefoot to the top, and immediately fell in love with the place. The comments struck many Albanians as breathtakingly arrogant. Sazan is not some deserted paradise waiting to be discovered. It is Albania's only island, a place rich in history and part of the country's shared heritage. Yet after discovering it, as Ivanka put it, they set about turning it into an exclusive luxury destination.
The entire project had been negotiated in secret. Residents were never consulted. Members of parliament reportedly knew nothing about it. Albanians only learned of the details after they appeared in the press. Prime Minister Edi Rama's government granted the project "strategic investor" status, allowing it to move quickly through approval processes and granting generous incentives. Critics say the arrangement amounts to a public subsidy for a private playground. During construction, the developers reportedly enjoy extensive tax exemptions while the Albanian state assumes responsibility for building and maintaining the infrastructure needed for the project, including roads, water systems, electricity, and sewage. Many Albanians have understandably asked why public money is being used to support billionaires while schools, hospitals, and local communities continue to struggle.
The resentment deepened when Jared Kushner explained that one of the most compelling aspects of Sazan was "the ability to have privacy." To many Albanians, that statement perfectly captured the spirit of the project. Privacy for whom? Certainly not for citizens who were never consulted about the future of their own island. Not for the public that may lose access to one of the country's most beautiful places. And not for the activists who found themselves facing private security guards after construction crews began clearing land and erecting fences in protected areas.
The situation exploded on May 30, when videos showing protesters being dragged and threatened by private security personnel spread across social media. Public outrage turned into mass demonstrations that have continued every day since. Environmentalists, historians, journalists, artists, academics, students, and ordinary citizens have joined together in a remarkable coalition. Increasingly, the protests have expanded beyond opposition to the resort itself and have become a broader indictment of the government. Calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign have grown louder, with many seeing the Sazan deal as symbolic of a political system that favors wealthy investors and political insiders over ordinary citizens.
For supporters of the project, Sazan is simply valuable real estate. For the protesters, it is something much more. The island lies near protected wetlands inhabited by flamingos, sea turtles, dolphins, and hundreds of migratory bird species. It contains archaeological sites, military installations, and layers of history that tell the story of Albania itself. Environmentalists warn that large-scale luxury development could irreversibly damage a unique ecosystem. But many protesters insist that the struggle is not only about protecting nature. It is about preserving the principle that a country's natural treasures belong to its people and should not be quietly handed over to billionaires behind closed doors.
Many observers assumed the deal was inevitable. After all, when governments, money, and political influence come together, ordinary people are usually expected to accept the outcome. But Albanians refused. Through demonstrations, petitions, lawsuits, investigative journalism, and relentless public pressure, they transformed what might have been a quiet backroom arrangement into a national debate over who gets to decide the future of the country.
Where things stand now remains uncertain. Prime Minister Edi Rama has insisted that the project will proceed and Kushner's company has given no indication that it intends to abandon its plans. At the same time, the protests have forced increased scrutiny. Construction activity has slowed, some fencing around the site has reportedly been removed, legal challenges are moving forward, and anti-corruption investigators are examining aspects of the deal. The demonstrations continue, attracting thousands of participants and turning the "Flamingo Revolution" into a symbol of broader frustrations with corruption and privatization.
Whatever the final outcome, the protesters have already accomplished something remarkable. They have shattered the myth that billionaire developments are inevitable. They have shown that secret deals can be exposed, that governments can be challenged, and that ordinary citizens still possess enormous power when they organize creatively and persistently. They have offered a lesson that reaches far beyond Albania. In an era when so many people feel powerless in the face of immense wealth and political influence, the Flamingo Revolution has demonstrated that massive non-violent uprisings can still force transparency, demand accountability, and defend the places and values they hold dear. And…they can challenge the family of Donald Trump
So thank you, Albania. Long live the Flamingo Revolution.
Medea Benjamin is a cofounder of both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange. She is the author of 11 books, including Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control, Kingdom of the Unjust: Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection, Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran and War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, coauthored with Nicolas J.S. Davies. Her most recent book, coauthored with David Swanson, is NATO: What You Need to Know.
