Why I don't drink Coke

Colombia, country of contrasts. It's ranked second in the world for efficiency in converting its many natural resources into happiness (the Happy Planet Index).

Yet for those who are not willing to simply co-exist with the gross inequalities that mark the Colombian economy, it's tough to be happy about the current state of affairs.

In a recent editorial titled, "A dangerous job in Colombia," the New York Times noted that Colombia is the world's worst offender against the lives and human rights of labor organizers. To stand up for labor rights in Colombia is to sign your own death certificate for 50% of labor leaders.

Meanwhile, Uribe's administration is trying to limit the independence of the UN Human Rights Commissioner in Colombia (Colombia seeks to curb role of UN Rights watchdog).

The Uribe government, against E.U. wishes, wants to renew the mandate but strip the 90-person office of independent oversight authority so it would mostly provide technical assistance, say foreign diplomats and human rights activists. They say the government's rejection of the U.N.'s first choice for the job, a candidate with broader human rights experience, reflects a deterioration in its support for the U.N. rights-monitoring operation.

So why do many of us living in Colombia choose not to drink Coke? There is good evidence (see list of articles, campaign: KillerCoke.org) that Coca-Cola's bottling plants in Colombia have used and continue to use paramilitary forces to kidnap, torture and kill union leaders. Putting aside for a moment the question of whether boycotts work, do you really want to contribute even in a the smallest way to a company willing to allow atrocities to be committed in the production of a soft drink?

A recent report paints a startling picture:

Bob Perillo of the U.S./ Labor Education in the Americas Project and the study's lead author, noted that seven out of 10 trade unionists in the world are murdered in Colombia.

In the past 20 years, 4,000 Colombian union members have been killed. While the number of killings has recently decreased, cases of anti-union violence and intimidation have risen in Colombia, the report said. Last year alone, 70 union members were assassinated.

It may sound melodramatic as you sit in a beach chair listening to the ocean or just wilting in your office, but ask yourself as you pop open that next bottle - who died for your Coke?

Take action: Labor Rights Colombia.