The anger has still not subsided in Albania. Since they discovered the barbed wire on the beaches of Zvernec, 150 km southwest of Tirana, at the end of May, Albanians have continued to march through the streets of the capital to protest against the tourist projects of the American president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner on the island of Zvernec.
On Saturday evening, several thousand marched in single file brandishing representations of giant pink flamingos and signs reading “Resign”. Although the matter is surrounded by many gray areas, the couple says they have purchased title deeds for the land on which part of the hotels would be built. And although it is a protected area. The couple invokes a law from February 2024 which makes this type of project possible, including in a sensitive area.
Located about ten kilometers from the town of Vlora, the island of Zvernec is connected to the mainland by a long wooden pontoon which winds over the calm waters. The island, almost entirely covered by a pine forest, and the lagoon which surrounds it are part of the protected landscape of Vjosa-Narta, an area recognized for its rich biodiversity. This ecosystem is home to many species of birds, including pink flamingos and Dalmatian pelicans, two endangered species that only breed on the Narta Lagoon.
A prime minister worn down by years of power and corruption
Since the start of the protests, Prime Minister Edi Rama has continued to mock the demonstrators by inviting some to “go fuck themselves” in an interview with the Financial Times. At least a hundred demonstrators have been indicted since the beginning of June, accused of “blocking vehicle traffic”, “disturbing public order” and “organizing and participating in illegal gatherings and demonstrations”.
But the anger of the demonstrators targets the Kushner project as much as the Albanian Prime Minister, in power since 2013 and whom they hold responsible for the soaring cost of living, corruption, deficiencies in the health system, pensions and the lack of perspective for a whole section of young people, who have had no other choice to go into exile in their thousands for years.
For its part, the Kushner family is not its first attempt in this region of the Balkans. In Serbia, in December 2025, Jared Kushner’s investment company Affinity Partners had to withdraw its project to build a luxury hotel planned on the ruins of the former headquarters of the Yugoslav army, target of bombings in 1999 during a NATO air campaign led by the United States to end the war in Kosovo (1998-1999). Street protests brought down the project, which was also marred by corruption and falsified documents.
