No, “Flamingo Revolution” isn’t an overly cute name for some sort of esoteric political movement.
The cause and (dare I say) maybe the movement is straightforward and really is in part about saving flamingos, and so much more.
Thirty years ago most Americans wouldn’t have been able to point to Albania on a map. These days, especially in certain parts of Connecticut, the Albanian-American community has become quite sizeable and very much an integral part of the broader communities they are a part of. I guess it should not have come as a surprise (though it did anyway) when a non-Albanian friend asked, “What the hell is going on in Albania, Joe?”
Not knowing what he was referring to but assuming it had something to do with government malfeasance — as it almost always does — I responded with a simple “What?”
What I heard back I never thought I would have heard in a million years: “The prime minister of Albania is trying to sell public land to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump to build a luxury resort!” When I went to my phone I didn’t even need to Google the story, there was already a Fox News article on this subject recommended to me.
After reading as much on this subject as I could, I began to realize that we were dealing with a legitimate movement that is happening in my native Albania. An organic movement, youth led, with a clear vision and a legitimate cause. Let me be clear, that cause is not anti-foreign investment, it is not anti-American, it is not anti-Jared, or anti-Ivanka, and it is certainly not anti-Trump.
In fact, Albania might be the most pro-American and pro-Trump country in the world (yes that is even compared to America). This movement, however, often associated with saving endangered flamingo populations in the area where the proposed resort would go, is about preserving natural parks and animal species but it is also about a newly awakened desire for self-determination among Albania’s youth. A truly inspiring movement that is still growing strong. This movement is not “anti” anything, other than anti-corrupt government. Albanians largely welcome foreign investment with open minds, and foreign visitors with open doors and open arms, and would welcome this proposed resort if not for what has become abundantly clear, which is that the Albanian politicians on all sides have duped and undercut people who were elected to represent and serve at every corner.
Albanians do not trust that their politicians will deliver the benefits promised by any foreign investments. They have seen their politicians as soon as the West’s eyes weren’t looking to bully them out of their property and any small amount of wealth they may have had. They have seen what trusting their government has done for them, and, to them, over the years. Why would they expect that anything would be different now?
Chants on the streets demand both major party leaders step down and be held to account, because there is no one individual or party to blame. Rather, the system, one which was built on faulty foundations from the moment of its inception in the early 1990s, one built from the rubble left behind by a brutal communist regime, is totally broken once again.
Albanians have an incredible history of survival and renewal, from the days when its people stood at the crossroads of wars between Western and Eastern empires, to surviving full-scale invasions during World War I and World War II. I know they can renew once again.
It is no surprise that the United States has historically seen a kindred spirit in Albania. We Americans share very similar values and characteristics as people and as nations. This is a very important time for the people of Albania, an opportunity they need not squander but make the most of. They need to root out corruption and truly create an environment for foreign investment to want to come.
As we continue to celebrate here in America, just days into our 250th anniversary, stories like the one taking place in Albania remind us of who we are as Americans and why we created the sort of government we did, by the people and for the people. Let us never forget that.
State Rep. Joe Hoxha is a Republican representing Bristol.