Key facts
- Pro-Palestinian activists arrived in Vlore, Albania, on August 21.
- The activists traveled from Italy on boats previously damaged by the Israeli military during a Gaza mission.
- They are supporting the 'Flamingo Revolution' protest movement.
- The movement opposes a luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner.
- Organizers cite concerns over dispossession and environmental protection, drawing parallels to Palestine.
Pro-Gaza activists arrived in Albania's Vlore on August 21, traveling from the Italian port of Brindisi aboard several boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla. These boats had been previously damaged by the Israeli military during the flotilla's prior mission to Gaza. The activists are in Albania to support the 'Flamingo Revolution' protest movement, which opposes a planned luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law.
Organizers of the protest have drawn parallels between the situation in Albania and the conflict in Palestine, expressing concerns over dispossession and environmental protection. The arrival of the flotilla coincides with the 35th anniversary of a significant event in 1991, when thousands of Albanians seeking asylum arrived in Italy on an overcrowded ship. Some children of survivors from that 1991 tragedy returned to Albania on the flotilla boats to lend their support to the movement, which has been active since May 16 against the sale of an island to an investment fund managed by Kushner.