How Ivanka Trump’s attempt to develop an Albanian island into a luxury resort prompted the biggest protests in the country in decades.

Key Points:

• Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are planning a $1.4 billion luxury villa resort development on Albania’s Sazan island and the ecologically protected Zvernec peninsula, sparking widespread public outrage.
• The project threatens a sensitive ecosystem home to hundreds of bird species, including flamingos, and has ignited the largest civil unrest in Albania since the fall of communism, known as the Flamingo Revolution.
• Protests, supported by environmental groups and local residents, have been ongoing for months, emphasizing opposition not just to this development but to corruption and autocratic governance under Prime Minister Edi Rama.
• The Albanian government has faced accusations of facilitating illegal land deals and prioritizing profit over sustainable development, with concerns about organized crime and money laundering linked to real estate projects.
• Despite the international attention on the Trump-Kushner project, the movement reflects deeper frustrations with Albania’s political and economic system, demanding a fundamental overhaul of democracy and protection of national resources.