Statement of Illai Kenney, Georgia Kids Against Pollution at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of Coca-Cola - Corporate Accountability International - Challenging Abuse, Protecting People - Think Outside the Bottle


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Statement of Illai Kenney, Georgia Kids Against Pollution at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of Coca-Cola
Wilmington, DE - April 19, 2005

My name is Illai Kenney and I am one of the founders of Georgia Kids Against Pollution (KAP). Recently, I was honored by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin for my work as a young African American Pioneer in Water and Environmental Sciences. I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak with you today on a matter of great urgency--your irresponsible and dangerous actions in India. We want you to stop draining water from communities like Plachimada and Mehdiganj.

Water is not a luxury; water is a human right. All across the planet, corporations like Coke are attempting to turn water from a human right to an unaffordable luxury. In some communities in India where Coke operates, groundwater levels have fallen by up to 40 feet and left villagers without access to enough water. In communities already facing extreme poverty, access to water is a life or death issue. Your practices there are wrong and the local people want them to stop. And here in the US, people are joining with them to demand Coke end its irresponsible and dangerous practices.

You may think I am young, gullible, and idealistic and that I don't understand business. You are wrong. At 16, I have already visited villages where there are almost no adults due to AIDS and I have seen children who are sick because they do not have access to water. These experiences not only compel me to take action to end these abuses but also drive me to educate others--especially my peers--to challenge Coke.

Recently, I shared stories of the struggle in India at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Human Rights Symposium in Atlanta and at the Black Youth Vote Conference in DC. I also plan to address the African Youth Conference in South Africa next month. As I speak, other KAP members are seriously considering action against Coke because of your water bottling practices in poor communities around the world.

Mr. Isdell, your corporation is becoming increasingly tarnished among young people like me. How are the effects of this potential long-term damage accounted for and reflected in your financial statements?