‘The right to stay’: Albania’s Italian diaspora sails back to support the Flamingo Revolution

Albania's Italian diaspora sails back across the Adriatic Sea to support the Flamingo Revolution. The 30-day protest movement, which began on 17 June 2026, is organized by the Italian-Albanian collective Mesdhe and the Albanian pro-Palestine collective Palestina e Lire, along with the Italian branch of the Global Sumud Flotilla. The flotilla aims to link the two Adriatic shores and demonstrate solidarity against luxury developments and land dispossession.

The Flamingo Revolution, named after the Narta lagoon, involves protests against controversial tourism projects, including a $1.4bn luxury resort on a former military island. The developers are Affinity Partners, a firm backed by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law. Another project, near Zvernec, threatens the protected Vjosa-Narta landscape.

Organizers are drawing parallels to the 1990s mass migration from Albania to Italy, which began following the collapse of the communist regime. In 1991, over 17,400 Albanians were deported from Bari, Puglia, after a merchant ship brought them from Albania. The organizers of the Flamingo Revolution see the issue as a continuation of the same corruption that caused the original migration.

Activists hope their journey will symbolize a return to Albania, a place where millions of Albanians have been forced to leave due to economic and political pressures. For many, the Flamingo Revolution represents the chance to reclaim their homeland and assert their right to stay.