“Always Coca Cola”
0.05
The FIFA World Cup is one of the most popular sporting events in the world.
0.15
For thirty years in a row Coca-Cola has been one of the main sponsors.
0.28
For an image of good sportsmanship and fair play no price seems too high.
But how well does Coke’s image measure up the business practices of this Global player.
1.03
The FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. For the fans who don’t have tickets to get into the stadium, there are official FIFA fan festivals outside. For security reasons fans are not allowed to bring their own drinks. There are strict and necessary security checks at the entrance. But once they get in the fans who don’t want alcohol have only one choice, it’s “always Coca-Cola”.
1.29
O-Ton
No tonic water, no bitter lemon, no water.
1.39
O-Ton
Germany, Germany, Germany
1.42
Whether it’s Sprite, Fanta, Bonaqa or Powerrade, all of these brands belong to Coke.
They are the only soft drinks available at official FIFA events.
As one of the main sponsors Coca-Cola can dictate the rules. They decide what fans drink and at what price.
2.03
O-Ton Beate
What does it taste like?
2.05
O-Ton Man
Very good
2.07
O- Ton Beate
Do you like Coke?
2.08
O-Ton man
I love it.
2.11
No matter which team wins today, Coca-Cola is already guaranteed victory at every match.
The company profits from the image of sportsmanship and fairness associated with this world event. For Germany it’s a “home game”, the soft drink giant from Atlanta is at home everywhere.
Reinhard Leitow and Heiko Müller are here to cheer on their team. But for these two former Coca-Cola colleagues the message of fairness sounds like mockery.
2.49
O-Ton Heiko Müller
I only trust this company as long as we sit together and negotiate. From my experience from the last 15 years I learned that the major aim was to reduce Coca Cola’s work force. There was no year where the company didn`t fire some of its workers.
3.09
Despite their feelings about the company, if they don’t want alcohol today they can only enjoy the drink they once helped to make. A hobby filmer, Reinhard Leitow documented the worker’s struggle of his former colleagues in Stralsund.
3.35
Seven Coca-Cola plants in eastern Germany have been closed. About 2.000 jobs were lost in a region where Coca-Cola received at least 10 Million Euros from government coffers for investing. What Coca-Cola's strategy in eastern Germany was, we don't know. What we do know, is that the people who were made redundant, feel deceived.
3.57
O-Ton Heiko Müller
As far as I’m concerned it was a political decision to close the factory and they pursued it with all means. In the end they succeded. This is the trend nowadays with globalisation. The aim is to centralise the bottling plants and to employ as few workers as possible. More and more people get fired, the only objective is to raise the profit for the share holders.
4.30
The empty Coca Cola plant in Stralsund in northern Germany is all that remains of the generous state subsidies. Coca Cola just wanted to get their hands on the money is what Bernhard Ludwig and his former colleagues think.
4.45
O-Ton Bernhard Ludwig
This used to be the production centre. It was a brand new hall.
4.54
For this factory alone Coca-Cola received a 3,5 million Euro investment incentive from the German taxpayer. For that they had to promise to stay for at least 10 years. The time had hardly passed, when Coca Cola was ready to move on. The workers were left behind in an empty factory hall.
5.18
O-Ton Reinhard Leitow
It’s still painful for me to pass by the empty hall or when I see the Coca Colas adverts and the lorries. The brand just makes me wonder why they didn`t stay here.
5.51
For the World Cup Coca Cola has even gone back to producing the old tin can, which the German government fought hard to get rid of. All the environmental arguments that against cans, that lead to a promise by the drinks industry to phase them out, have been conveniently forgotten. More than 11 million of coke cans have been produced almost entirely by machines, especially for the World Cup.
6.21
To get the message out that Coca-Cola is a good sport, the company hosted a nation wide competition offering free world cup tickets to the winners. Coca-Cola’s way of giving something back to the fans and promote their drinks all in one.
Especially their little known table water, Bonaqa.
6.41
O-Ton Beate
Do you drink Coke?
6.42
O-Ton man
Not so much. Only with whiskey.
6.47
O-Ton Beate
Do you like Bonaqa?
6.48
O-Ton man
6.51
Yeah, it`s okay and the Lift is fine as well.
6.54
O-Ton
But one can drink it
6.56
O-Ton
Well, it’s drinkable.
7.00
O-Ton Beate
And the taste is okay.
7.03
O-Ton
It’s too fizzy.
7.07
O-Ton Beate
Do you know that it is only tap water and no mineral water?
7.11
O-Ton
No, I didn`t know.
7.13
Bonaqa is the only drinking water available at the World Cup. It’s purified and glorified tap water. Time and again Coca Cola has been plagued by scandals surrounding their water from the tap. A big Fiasco was the table water Dasani. It was meant to take the British market by storm. But then laboratories found high levels of bromine in the water. The fault lay with Britain’s antiquated watersystem.
Dasani and its advertising spot dissapeared over night, not just in England but also in Germany.
7.56
Also in countries like India Coca Cola wants to take over the water market by force.
But a strong protest movement has already formed here. Coca Cola is producing soft drinks in over 70 factories here. It has been accused of pollution many times, especially in regions with water shortages. The soft drink giant has built one of its biggest factories in the Indian desert, in the state of Rajasthan.
The region is suffering a severe drought and that makes the problem of water pollution even worse, it´s what the protesters claim.
8.38
This farmer leads the campaign against Coca Cola in Rajasthan.
8.43
O-Ton Kuri
9.13
Scientific studies here have repeatedly found toxic pesticides in Coca-Cola bottles.
9.24
The company itself admits that the pesticide residues are above European standards. The Indian government has forced Coca Cola to test their product on a daily basis, but often the toxic residue can't be filtered out of the ground water.
9.48
To produce a 0.33 Litre bottle of Coca Cola, you need a whole litre of water.
Water in India is almost free of charge by law, even where it is scarce.
The company’s profit margins are huge.
Coca-Cola’s enormous water consumption has forced Indian farmers to take to the streets.
10.11
"Coca-Cola is a water thief. Pepsi Cola is a water thief."
Nadal Master is the leader of a big protest movement against the soft drink manufacturers in northern India.
Their goal is to get Coca Cola out of the region and out of India.
10.30
O-Ton
We don't need this company here. Coca Cola is cheating us, so let's fight against this company together.
10.43
O-Ton Nandahl
Since 1999 there have been protests. We are non-violent, we just want this factory to close. Coca Cola is using up millions of liters of clean drinking water every day here. The ground water level has gone down more than 60 meters. They just pour their waste water out into our fields. And thereby they distroy our harvest.
11.05
These people are fighting for their existence. They are running out of drinking water.
11.13
They don't want Coke or Pepsi, they just want water. Mehangindi is one of the biggest bottling plants in India. During peak season in the dry period 600 small coke bottles are filled here every minute. That's about half billion litres of drinking water each year for this factory alone.
The plant uses one whole liter of water to fill each bottle of Coca Cola.
11.51
And that in a region that reaches temperatures 47 degrees centigrade in the summertime.
12.01
In the past they used to grow rice here, there was enough water for irrigating the fields. But now it's impossible to grow grain.
12.15
The water level has sunk so far that only bushes and trees with long roots survive. The well is almost out of water. After a long working life, this farmer has nothing left.
12.28
O-Ton Bauer
The Coca Cola factory opened up in 1998 and it has ruined my life. I had rice and wheat. I was a rich farmer. Now I have to work as a farm labourer far away from home.
12.49
To survive he collects rain water. Three buckets a day is all he has, like many people who live close to the factories.
13.01
This group of locals has walked over 200 kilometers through the country. It's not just about the factory, but about who owns the water.
Not only in the village of Mehangidini are the wells empty, but also in some 20 villages and towns in the region.
The water level is going down in villages more than three kilometres from here. Thousands of people are afraid of running out of drinking water.
13.31
The Indian government invited Coca Cola to invest here. They protect the factory with a heavy police presence. Urimila Viskama is a teacher from the region. She is also drawn into the confrontation. The peaceful march of farmers ends with aggression.
13.59
Urimila was brutally beaten and arrested. She sat in jail with 40 other women for six days. She has bruises from the beating she received and her knee is broken.
14.17
O-Ton Urimila
The men were forbidden to go near the factory a long time ago already. I went there with some 300 women and as we approached the barricade, which they have set up around the factory, the police started to beat us with stics, although we have the right to demonstrate.
14.41
Every morning Urimila faces the same problem. When she goes to the well to get water, she has to lower the bucket further down.
And this, although this village is more than three kilometers away from the Coca Cola plant with its huge industrial water well.
She can't cook with this dirty water. Urimila has to go far to get clean drinking water.
15.14
O-Ton Urimila
This factory has not brought progress to our region. It’s of no use to us. We were happy when they first came, we thought it’s good that they invest in the countryside.
But for years now we have watched them waste our water. That’s not progress.
Now we left here as beggars and loosers and soon there will be many more people like us. This is not the way forward for India, we can’t afford to loose our water.
15.40
Urimila's village Mehangindi in the heart of India, is just a few kilometers away from Mother Ganga, the Hindu name for their holy river.
15.56
For the first time in the history of the village all casts are equally affected, whether they be Patels, rich farmers and landowners or Musharas, simple farm workers.
16.13
The villagers trust Urimila. Her real job is to convince the women to send their children including the girls to school.
16.24
She was married at 15 and has three daughters. Urimila suceeded in getting an education. She wants the same for all the children in the village. Today 90 per cent of the villagers send their sons and daughters to school.
16.40
That was Urimila's work, a big achievement for the local women, but now she has turned their focus to the water problem.
16.53
Wherever she goes these days she sees the same dilemma. Tap water is in short supply. But its this free water from the state, that the people here rely on.
Voodoo magic won't help either. The fire under the tap is meant to create a vacuum, to suck the water upwards, but nothing happens, not a single drop.
17.21
Once the symbols of progress these new taps and water pipes have become useless.
17.40
The harvest has shrunk by more than 40 per cent, because the fields are not being irrigated properly. Hardly anyone can afford Coca Cola. A small bottle costs 20 Eurocent. Urimilla earns 20 Euros in a month. This cool soft drink is only for special occasions and well earning managers. One of them is Rajiv Singh, a Coca Cola representative. Urimila meets him infront of the factory.
8.16
O-Ton Urimila
You invited us to the factory, to see for ourselves that you are not taking too much water and that everything is in order. You wanted us to see your environmentally friendly plant and when we came you wouldn’t let us in.
08:32
O-Ton Rajiv Singh
We are not responsible for your shortage of water. It is not worth you talking to the soft drink manufacturers. Our factories use very little water, there are simply too many people living here who are wasteful with water. We are not the problem.
18.54
O-Ton Urimila
It’s not worth me talking about the water problem to the local Coca Cola people from Varanasi. The manager from Delhi, Kalian Ranyan, he is responsible.
19.05
Urumila and her fellow villagers stay firm. They keep a 24 hour protest vigil outside the factory gate.
Nandahl demands that the company at least close during the hot summer months when people need more water.
Just recently Kalian Ranyan, the spokesperson of Coca Cola in Dehli came to the tent.
19.33
O-Ton Herr Kalian
We have asked a highranking official whether our water use is ok and I can even give you figures to prove how much water we use.
19.49
O-Ton Nandahl
You want to produce four times as much here like in Kaladera. In two weeks you use as much water as we do in one whole year and it’s getting more and more.
19.59
O-Ton Herr Kalian
That’s not true. We will use rain water.
20.07
The people want to see the factory for themselves to find out what’s really going on.
20.15
O-Ton Nandahl
We want to film and take pictures. We want an investigation to prove how much water is being stolen here. Not just to see the parts of the factory they want us to see.
20.27
But Coca Cola won't allow this. Nobody is allowed to film here freely. These pictures were supplied by Coca Cola itself.
The company has only a few thousand permanent staff in India. Only they get the government minimum wage of one Euro and twenty cent for an eight hour shift. The vast majority of Coca-Cola’s staff in India are day labourers and contract workers who make far less money than that.
All they get is 50 cent to one Euro for twelve hours of work. They have no social security and no workers representation.
21.18
In front of one of the factories we meet this man. He can hardly walk. But he comes here every day, although the always turn him away.
21.38
He wants compensation for his broken leg, it is the result of an accident at work.
21.55
O-Ton: Kuma
„I was working on the bottling machine at Coca-Cola. Suddenly a bottle got stuck and I tried to pull it out. In that moment the machine started up again and I was dragged onto the conveyor belt. The machine dragged me along for quite a bit and my leg was injured and my ankle broken. Since then I have not been allowed to enter the factory.”
22.24
Nobody is allowed near the factory. It is surrounded by barbed wire. All efforts to start a workers union have been surpressed.
22.37
O-Ton Bhagwan Das Yadav
When we wanted to found a union, they bribed the authorities so that we could not fullfill the requirements. All we wanted was for Coca Cola to respect India’s labour laws. We organized a sit down protest. The next day they fired all the workers from this region.
23.02
Till today the people of Mehangindi are waiting for compensation from the company for stealing their land and their water.
23.13
Although a high court has already ruled in favour of the farmers, their peaceful protesters are still being driven away by force.
23.34
Coca Cola is continuing with its expansion policy unchanged. The latest plant has just opened in the south and the people there fear the same problems.
23.49
People in the west are not meant to associate scenes like in India with Coca Cola.
Company managers want nothing to conflict with the sporty, happy image they have paid so much for.
24.07
Exactly how much the company pays is a well kept secret. One thing is certain, it’s a good deal for both FIFA and its sponsor.
24.22
O-Ton: Cola Sprecherin Claudia Fasse
“Coca-Cola has the image of being a drink for active people, for refreshment, for special achievements and for a team experience, that’s why our goal with the football world cup is a general goal to be there for the people, to be there for the fans, for sport and everywhere where people have fun and want refreshment and want to share an experience they will always find Coca-Cola.”
24.59
O-Ton: FAN
Talks about FIFA
25.22
Sepp Blattler is the head of football’s world governing body. He’s the man in charge of the sponsorship deals and all the arrangements with the host nation.
25.34
O-Ton: Sepp Blattler
“After all this is about the image of one of the most famous countries in the world, if they host a world cup with a huge scandal, then that would have a lasting impact all over the world.”
25.51
In the run up to the event, many journalists question FIFA’s conditions, such as refusing to pay tax to the host nation.
26.03
O-Ton: Sepp Blattler
“That is how you see it, if you want to call it blackmail, it was an agreement which was part of our public tender which was accepted if you call it blackmail, then I need not comment further……… (pause, lass Sepp sprechen)
26.23
I’m not prepared to answer any more questions on this issue.”
26.30
Many questions remain open, but for Sepp Blattler the show must go on. No time for critical questions.
26.38
At the FIFA festival the fans have lost their respect for the organization’s boss.
26.59
O-Ton Beate
27.03
O-Ton man
27.13
O-Ton Beate
27.16
O-Ton man
27.21
O-Ton Beate
27.25
O-Ton man
27.44
The next World Cup will be in Africa. It is already set to break new records in terms of sponsorship deals. Main sponsors are rumoured to have bid 100 Million Euros.
But by far the biggest financial contribution will still come from the tax payers of the host nation.
28.08
No matter who wins the Football World Cup, no matter which country hosts the event, the real winner is always Coca Cola.
0.05
The FIFA World Cup is one of the most popular sporting events in the world.
0.15
For thirty years in a row Coca-Cola has been one of the main sponsors.
0.28
For an image of good sportsmanship and fair play no price seems too high.
But how well does Coke’s image measure up the business practices of this Global player.
1.03
The FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. For the fans who don’t have tickets to get into the stadium, there are official FIFA fan festivals outside. For security reasons fans are not allowed to bring their own drinks. There are strict and necessary security checks at the entrance. But once they get in the fans who don’t want alcohol have only one choice, it’s “always Coca-Cola”.
1.29
O-Ton
No tonic water, no bitter lemon, no water.
1.39
O-Ton
Germany, Germany, Germany
1.42
Whether it’s Sprite, Fanta, Bonaqa or Powerrade, all of these brands belong to Coke.
They are the only soft drinks available at official FIFA events.
As one of the main sponsors Coca-Cola can dictate the rules. They decide what fans drink and at what price.
2.03
O-Ton Beate
What does it taste like?
2.05
O-Ton Man
Very good
2.07
O- Ton Beate
Do you like Coke?
2.08
O-Ton man
I love it.
2.11
No matter which team wins today, Coca-Cola is already guaranteed victory at every match.
The company profits from the image of sportsmanship and fairness associated with this world event. For Germany it’s a “home game”, the soft drink giant from Atlanta is at home everywhere.
Reinhard Leitow and Heiko Müller are here to cheer on their team. But for these two former Coca-Cola colleagues the message of fairness sounds like mockery.
2.49
O-Ton Heiko Müller
I only trust this company as long as we sit together and negotiate. From my experience from the last 15 years I learned that the major aim was to reduce Coca Cola’s work force. There was no year where the company didn`t fire some of its workers.
3.09
Despite their feelings about the company, if they don’t want alcohol today they can only enjoy the drink they once helped to make. A hobby filmer, Reinhard Leitow documented the worker’s struggle of his former colleagues in Stralsund.
3.35
Seven Coca-Cola plants in eastern Germany have been closed. About 2.000 jobs were lost in a region where Coca-Cola received at least 10 Million Euros from government coffers for investing. What Coca-Cola's strategy in eastern Germany was, we don't know. What we do know, is that the people who were made redundant, feel deceived.
3.57
O-Ton Heiko Müller
As far as I’m concerned it was a political decision to close the factory and they pursued it with all means. In the end they succeded. This is the trend nowadays with globalisation. The aim is to centralise the bottling plants and to employ as few workers as possible. More and more people get fired, the only objective is to raise the profit for the share holders.
4.30
The empty Coca Cola plant in Stralsund in northern Germany is all that remains of the generous state subsidies. Coca Cola just wanted to get their hands on the money is what Bernhard Ludwig and his former colleagues think.
4.45
O-Ton Bernhard Ludwig
This used to be the production centre. It was a brand new hall.
4.54
For this factory alone Coca-Cola received a 3,5 million Euro investment incentive from the German taxpayer. For that they had to promise to stay for at least 10 years. The time had hardly passed, when Coca Cola was ready to move on. The workers were left behind in an empty factory hall.
5.18
O-Ton Reinhard Leitow
It’s still painful for me to pass by the empty hall or when I see the Coca Colas adverts and the lorries. The brand just makes me wonder why they didn`t stay here.
5.51
For the World Cup Coca Cola has even gone back to producing the old tin can, which the German government fought hard to get rid of. All the environmental arguments that against cans, that lead to a promise by the drinks industry to phase them out, have been conveniently forgotten. More than 11 million of coke cans have been produced almost entirely by machines, especially for the World Cup.
6.21
To get the message out that Coca-Cola is a good sport, the company hosted a nation wide competition offering free world cup tickets to the winners. Coca-Cola’s way of giving something back to the fans and promote their drinks all in one.
Especially their little known table water, Bonaqa.
6.41
O-Ton Beate
Do you drink Coke?
6.42
O-Ton man
Not so much. Only with whiskey.
6.47
O-Ton Beate
Do you like Bonaqa?
6.48
O-Ton man
6.51
Yeah, it`s okay and the Lift is fine as well.
6.54
O-Ton
But one can drink it
6.56
O-Ton
Well, it’s drinkable.
7.00
O-Ton Beate
And the taste is okay.
7.03
O-Ton
It’s too fizzy.
7.07
O-Ton Beate
Do you know that it is only tap water and no mineral water?
7.11
O-Ton
No, I didn`t know.
7.13
Bonaqa is the only drinking water available at the World Cup. It’s purified and glorified tap water. Time and again Coca Cola has been plagued by scandals surrounding their water from the tap. A big Fiasco was the table water Dasani. It was meant to take the British market by storm. But then laboratories found high levels of bromine in the water. The fault lay with Britain’s antiquated watersystem.
Dasani and its advertising spot dissapeared over night, not just in England but also in Germany.
7.56
Also in countries like India Coca Cola wants to take over the water market by force.
But a strong protest movement has already formed here. Coca Cola is producing soft drinks in over 70 factories here. It has been accused of pollution many times, especially in regions with water shortages. The soft drink giant has built one of its biggest factories in the Indian desert, in the state of Rajasthan.
The region is suffering a severe drought and that makes the problem of water pollution even worse, it´s what the protesters claim.
8.38
This farmer leads the campaign against Coca Cola in Rajasthan.
8.43
O-Ton Kuri
9.13
Scientific studies here have repeatedly found toxic pesticides in Coca-Cola bottles.
9.24
The company itself admits that the pesticide residues are above European standards. The Indian government has forced Coca Cola to test their product on a daily basis, but often the toxic residue can't be filtered out of the ground water.
9.48
To produce a 0.33 Litre bottle of Coca Cola, you need a whole litre of water.
Water in India is almost free of charge by law, even where it is scarce.
The company’s profit margins are huge.
Coca-Cola’s enormous water consumption has forced Indian farmers to take to the streets.
10.11
"Coca-Cola is a water thief. Pepsi Cola is a water thief."
Nadal Master is the leader of a big protest movement against the soft drink manufacturers in northern India.
Their goal is to get Coca Cola out of the region and out of India.
10.30
O-Ton
We don't need this company here. Coca Cola is cheating us, so let's fight against this company together.
10.43
O-Ton Nandahl
Since 1999 there have been protests. We are non-violent, we just want this factory to close. Coca Cola is using up millions of liters of clean drinking water every day here. The ground water level has gone down more than 60 meters. They just pour their waste water out into our fields. And thereby they distroy our harvest.
11.05
These people are fighting for their existence. They are running out of drinking water.
11.13
They don't want Coke or Pepsi, they just want water. Mehangindi is one of the biggest bottling plants in India. During peak season in the dry period 600 small coke bottles are filled here every minute. That's about half billion litres of drinking water each year for this factory alone.
The plant uses one whole liter of water to fill each bottle of Coca Cola.
11.51
And that in a region that reaches temperatures 47 degrees centigrade in the summertime.
12.01
In the past they used to grow rice here, there was enough water for irrigating the fields. But now it's impossible to grow grain.
12.15
The water level has sunk so far that only bushes and trees with long roots survive. The well is almost out of water. After a long working life, this farmer has nothing left.
12.28
O-Ton Bauer
The Coca Cola factory opened up in 1998 and it has ruined my life. I had rice and wheat. I was a rich farmer. Now I have to work as a farm labourer far away from home.
12.49
To survive he collects rain water. Three buckets a day is all he has, like many people who live close to the factories.
13.01
This group of locals has walked over 200 kilometers through the country. It's not just about the factory, but about who owns the water.
Not only in the village of Mehangidini are the wells empty, but also in some 20 villages and towns in the region.
The water level is going down in villages more than three kilometres from here. Thousands of people are afraid of running out of drinking water.
13.31
The Indian government invited Coca Cola to invest here. They protect the factory with a heavy police presence. Urimila Viskama is a teacher from the region. She is also drawn into the confrontation. The peaceful march of farmers ends with aggression.
13.59
Urimila was brutally beaten and arrested. She sat in jail with 40 other women for six days. She has bruises from the beating she received and her knee is broken.
14.17
O-Ton Urimila
The men were forbidden to go near the factory a long time ago already. I went there with some 300 women and as we approached the barricade, which they have set up around the factory, the police started to beat us with stics, although we have the right to demonstrate.
14.41
Every morning Urimila faces the same problem. When she goes to the well to get water, she has to lower the bucket further down.
And this, although this village is more than three kilometers away from the Coca Cola plant with its huge industrial water well.
She can't cook with this dirty water. Urimila has to go far to get clean drinking water.
15.14
O-Ton Urimila
This factory has not brought progress to our region. It’s of no use to us. We were happy when they first came, we thought it’s good that they invest in the countryside.
But for years now we have watched them waste our water. That’s not progress.
Now we left here as beggars and loosers and soon there will be many more people like us. This is not the way forward for India, we can’t afford to loose our water.
15.40
Urimila's village Mehangindi in the heart of India, is just a few kilometers away from Mother Ganga, the Hindu name for their holy river.
15.56
For the first time in the history of the village all casts are equally affected, whether they be Patels, rich farmers and landowners or Musharas, simple farm workers.
16.13
The villagers trust Urimila. Her real job is to convince the women to send their children including the girls to school.
16.24
She was married at 15 and has three daughters. Urimila suceeded in getting an education. She wants the same for all the children in the village. Today 90 per cent of the villagers send their sons and daughters to school.
16.40
That was Urimila's work, a big achievement for the local women, but now she has turned their focus to the water problem.
16.53
Wherever she goes these days she sees the same dilemma. Tap water is in short supply. But its this free water from the state, that the people here rely on.
Voodoo magic won't help either. The fire under the tap is meant to create a vacuum, to suck the water upwards, but nothing happens, not a single drop.
17.21
Once the symbols of progress these new taps and water pipes have become useless.
17.40
The harvest has shrunk by more than 40 per cent, because the fields are not being irrigated properly. Hardly anyone can afford Coca Cola. A small bottle costs 20 Eurocent. Urimilla earns 20 Euros in a month. This cool soft drink is only for special occasions and well earning managers. One of them is Rajiv Singh, a Coca Cola representative. Urimila meets him infront of the factory.
8.16
O-Ton Urimila
You invited us to the factory, to see for ourselves that you are not taking too much water and that everything is in order. You wanted us to see your environmentally friendly plant and when we came you wouldn’t let us in.
08:32
O-Ton Rajiv Singh
We are not responsible for your shortage of water. It is not worth you talking to the soft drink manufacturers. Our factories use very little water, there are simply too many people living here who are wasteful with water. We are not the problem.
18.54
O-Ton Urimila
It’s not worth me talking about the water problem to the local Coca Cola people from Varanasi. The manager from Delhi, Kalian Ranyan, he is responsible.
19.05
Urumila and her fellow villagers stay firm. They keep a 24 hour protest vigil outside the factory gate.
Nandahl demands that the company at least close during the hot summer months when people need more water.
Just recently Kalian Ranyan, the spokesperson of Coca Cola in Dehli came to the tent.
19.33
O-Ton Herr Kalian
We have asked a highranking official whether our water use is ok and I can even give you figures to prove how much water we use.
19.49
O-Ton Nandahl
You want to produce four times as much here like in Kaladera. In two weeks you use as much water as we do in one whole year and it’s getting more and more.
19.59
O-Ton Herr Kalian
That’s not true. We will use rain water.
20.07
The people want to see the factory for themselves to find out what’s really going on.
20.15
O-Ton Nandahl
We want to film and take pictures. We want an investigation to prove how much water is being stolen here. Not just to see the parts of the factory they want us to see.
20.27
But Coca Cola won't allow this. Nobody is allowed to film here freely. These pictures were supplied by Coca Cola itself.
The company has only a few thousand permanent staff in India. Only they get the government minimum wage of one Euro and twenty cent for an eight hour shift. The vast majority of Coca-Cola’s staff in India are day labourers and contract workers who make far less money than that.
All they get is 50 cent to one Euro for twelve hours of work. They have no social security and no workers representation.
21.18
In front of one of the factories we meet this man. He can hardly walk. But he comes here every day, although the always turn him away.
21.38
He wants compensation for his broken leg, it is the result of an accident at work.
21.55
O-Ton: Kuma
„I was working on the bottling machine at Coca-Cola. Suddenly a bottle got stuck and I tried to pull it out. In that moment the machine started up again and I was dragged onto the conveyor belt. The machine dragged me along for quite a bit and my leg was injured and my ankle broken. Since then I have not been allowed to enter the factory.”
22.24
Nobody is allowed near the factory. It is surrounded by barbed wire. All efforts to start a workers union have been surpressed.
22.37
O-Ton Bhagwan Das Yadav
When we wanted to found a union, they bribed the authorities so that we could not fullfill the requirements. All we wanted was for Coca Cola to respect India’s labour laws. We organized a sit down protest. The next day they fired all the workers from this region.
23.02
Till today the people of Mehangindi are waiting for compensation from the company for stealing their land and their water.
23.13
Although a high court has already ruled in favour of the farmers, their peaceful protesters are still being driven away by force.
23.34
Coca Cola is continuing with its expansion policy unchanged. The latest plant has just opened in the south and the people there fear the same problems.
23.49
People in the west are not meant to associate scenes like in India with Coca Cola.
Company managers want nothing to conflict with the sporty, happy image they have paid so much for.
24.07
Exactly how much the company pays is a well kept secret. One thing is certain, it’s a good deal for both FIFA and its sponsor.
24.22
O-Ton: Cola Sprecherin Claudia Fasse
“Coca-Cola has the image of being a drink for active people, for refreshment, for special achievements and for a team experience, that’s why our goal with the football world cup is a general goal to be there for the people, to be there for the fans, for sport and everywhere where people have fun and want refreshment and want to share an experience they will always find Coca-Cola.”
24.59
O-Ton: FAN
Talks about FIFA
25.22
Sepp Blattler is the head of football’s world governing body. He’s the man in charge of the sponsorship deals and all the arrangements with the host nation.
25.34
O-Ton: Sepp Blattler
“After all this is about the image of one of the most famous countries in the world, if they host a world cup with a huge scandal, then that would have a lasting impact all over the world.”
25.51
In the run up to the event, many journalists question FIFA’s conditions, such as refusing to pay tax to the host nation.
26.03
O-Ton: Sepp Blattler
“That is how you see it, if you want to call it blackmail, it was an agreement which was part of our public tender which was accepted if you call it blackmail, then I need not comment further……… (pause, lass Sepp sprechen)
26.23
I’m not prepared to answer any more questions on this issue.”
26.30
Many questions remain open, but for Sepp Blattler the show must go on. No time for critical questions.
26.38
At the FIFA festival the fans have lost their respect for the organization’s boss.
26.59
O-Ton Beate
27.03
O-Ton man
27.13
O-Ton Beate
27.16
O-Ton man
27.21
O-Ton Beate
27.25
O-Ton man
27.44
The next World Cup will be in Africa. It is already set to break new records in terms of sponsorship deals. Main sponsors are rumoured to have bid 100 Million Euros.
But by far the biggest financial contribution will still come from the tax payers of the host nation.
28.08
No matter who wins the Football World Cup, no matter which country hosts the event, the real winner is always Coca Cola.