Rama with Albanians in Detroit: “The flamingo became Albania’s most popular figure — society now demands more from the government”

Prime Minister Edi Rama held a meeting with the Albanian diaspora in Detroit, Michigan, where he spoke about changes in Albanian society, the country’s development, nature protection and the relationship between citizens and institutions.

During his speech, Rama dwelled on the protests dubbed the “flamingo revolution,” which this summer became one of Albania’s most talked-about symbols, linking it to international attention on the country and to the changing way Albanian society reacts to environmental issues.

“A few days ago I was reading that not far from where we are today, two or three years ago, some linguists saw a flamingo for the first time. The U.S. state bird-recording commission officially certified the presence of this bird and called it an extremely rare occurrence. But this summer the flamingo became Albania’s most popular figure — it came out of the lagoon, arrived in Tirana, took over the boulevard, the screens, and drew attention from all four corners of the globe. Nobody would have imagined how a single bird would turn Albania into a global address of a multi-dimensional debate on nature, development, tourism and Trumpization. Beyond the latter, which — for the sake of truth — globalized the flamingo of Zvërnec, there was something very meaningful in the civic expression of the June protest, which drew not only attention but also the support of many, even in the diaspora,” Rama said.

Rama said the protest showed that Albanian society’s reaction reflects a change in the way citizens hold institutions accountable. Rama said citizens’ approach has changed today and expectations of the government and the state have grown.

“Until yesterday, nature was being massacred in Albania like nowhere else in the world and nobody said a word. Until yesterday, Albania was being harmed in many ways and the world didn’t see it, while Albanians couldn’t even see it, in fact, because life there was lived with the idea that there is even worse. Today it is lived with the idea that it can be lived even better, and this new approach of society was sealed by that manifestation: a society that demands more, a society that has risen and no longer accepts to lower its gaze,” Rama said.

Rama went on to emphasize that demands should not be directed only at the government and institutions, but also at citizens themselves and the way they coexist in a democratic society.

“We learned to demand more from the government, from the state. We must learn to demand more from ourselves as well, as part of the new Albanian society, and especially in the way we see one another when our views don’t match. Democracy is a disagreement that excludes hatred, that implies respect and a struggle in which the goal does not justify every means,” Rama said.