We should be inspired by the flamingo revolution of the Albanians
Thousands of flamingos bob on the waves, white beaches loom behind the flowering yellow bushes. And then barbed wire, private security guards and protesters being violently dragged away. The summer’s most shocking images come from the small island of Sazan i Albania. There want Ivanka Trumpwith colonial talk that she “discovered a private island” – building luxury hotels with 10,000 rooms. It is not a private island, it belongs to us, the Albanians reply, and have created a gigantic protest movement. They call themselves the flamingo revolution.
The author Lea Ypi writes in The Guardian that she hadn’t seen anything like it since the fall of the wall. But unlike the activists of that time, today’s young people have not given up on the idea of the state, but insist that it belongs to them. “Albania is not for sale” is the slogan. The fact that it is the Trump family behind the hotel project does not help. The only problem is that the US is a strong ally of Albania, which is part of NATO. The politicians refuse to give in.
As a Swede, you can feel privileged when you read about this type of exploitation. We have public rights and beach protection, we think and pat ourselves on the back. If some annoying neighbor puts up a “private” sign, you walk past it with the law at your back, snickering at their American fantasies. At least that’s how it has been until now.
The Tidö government continues to try to demolish up the beach protection, which is quite unique for our country and has existed for seventy years. They already abolished it for small lakes and streams last year, despite protests. Like grasshoppers, they aim to squeeze the last drops out of their reign. Is a bigger pier looming for the summer moon?
You still have to look for a less popular proposal. It’s almost impressive. They don’t pretend to be something they’re not. As a special investigator they have appointed Fredrik Wersällwho was most recently Reich Marshal and head of the Swedish Court States. (He is addressed with the title Excellency). In sounding upper-class sociolect he explains that in a presentation of the investigation that beach protection has become “strikingly restrictive”. He wants to move from prohibition legislation to seeking “permission” in places where “legitimate exploitation” could take place.
Sweden has 400,000 lakes, he says, so that you understand how much land is actually involved. This is about one tenth of Sweden’s area.
This goes against what the Tidö government has always emphasized, that this is not at all a major political proposal that will lead to any major political change. It’s just a tiny, tiny jetty, the kids love to swim there and the boat house has to be expanded so we can fit all the jet skis and our two boats?! Please, you must understand that?! It’s just a tiny, tiny suggestion… You don’t have a beach plot anyway, you’ll never understand!
The fact that with climate change we also get increased sea levels does not seem to have reached the government. There can hardly be a worse time to increase housing by the water, but rational arguments stop them not in these matters of the heart.
We therefore understand that these are large areas of land. Curtailing beach protection would simply be a big deal. As the Nature Conservation Society writes would a removed beach protection lead to increased exploitation of beaches, reduced access to areas for bathing, outdoor life and recreation and poorer protection for valuable ecosystems. In addition, Sweden’s resistance to floods could be greatly weakened.
This is what we are going to implement, in order to with the acting climate and environment minister Johan Britzown, very moving, words, increase “people’s freedom to build a shed or a jetty”. Who are these people? It’s not you and me. The connections between this kind of politics and Ivanka Trump’s flamingo massacre are clear. “Legitimate exploitation”, that’s probably what the Albanian politicians call it too.
Lea Ypi means that the Flamingo movement shows that Albania can for once be a role model for Europe rather than the other way around. We see here a generation that resists the dominance of the oligarchs and mobilizes for a new form of social planning, where nature protection is linked to democratic legitimacy, she writes.
The question is whether we in Sweden are too naive, too lulled into some kind of vegetatively privileged calm, to see that our common beaches are being privatized and what that means. In the meantime, Kristersson and his noble friends can plunder the beach meadows and rock outcroppings that until now belonged to us all. Their investigation, which was pre-presented at the beginning of June, suggests that municipalities themselves decide where the protection should apply and that interests are balanced in each individual case. It does not sound at all like an invitation to corruption and petty fiddling on the municipal shoreline.
Enjoy this summer, when your favorite swimming spot is still available. If the Tidö oligarchs win the election this autumn, it could very well be exploited – “legitimately”.
Sanna Samuelsson is an author and writer for Aftonbladet Kultur.
