Ibrahim Sonallah - The Committee

"Since its advent, Coca-Cola has been linked with the major trends of the age, sometimes sharing to a large extent in their formation. The American pharmacist Pemberton synthesized it in Atlanta, famous as the capital of Georgia, the birthplace of the American president Carter and of the notorious Ku Klux Klan. This was during 1886, the very year in which the famous Statue of Liberty, that symbol of the New World, was completed.

"As for the bottle, it was one product of an American war of liberation.' Having vanquished the Indians, the United States plunged into the Spanish-American War in Cuba, which ended in 1899, with the proclamation of `independence' for Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. An American soldier, who, coincidentally, had the same name as the great American philosopher of the preceding century, Benjamin Franklin, saw a bottle of a carbonated beverage made from banana syrup. On returning home, he obtained bottling rights for a new product. The bottle's shape varied until it finally stabilized in the universally recognized form of `a girl with an hourglass figure.'

"It may have been Coca-Cola that first shattered the traditional image of the ad, previously a mere description of a product. Thus it laid the cornerstone of that tower: ng structure, that leading art of the age, namely, advertising. Certainly, it broke the long-standing illusion of a relationship between thirst and heat through the slogan: 'Thirst knows no season.' It was ahead of its time in the use of radio and neon for advertisements. It sponsored television shows, produced films, and backed new international stars and idols such as actors, the Beatles, and the pioneers of rock and roll, the twist, and pop.

"Coca-Cola went through two world wars and emerged from them victorious. It sold five billion bot ties during the seven years of World War II. Then it slipped into Europe under the wing of the Marshall Plan, which backed the war-weakened European currencies by means of American products and loans.

"It then took its place as a leading consumer product, along with Ford cars, Parker pens, and Ronson lighters, but still kept its finger on the pulse of today's everchanging world. With the advent of the great age of installment plans, and neighbor competing with neighbor for the newest model car with the largest trunk, capable of holding enough groceries to fill the largest fridge, Coca-Cola marketed the family-sized bottle, the `Maxi.'

"When the United States cooperated in a new `war of liberation' in Korea, Coca-Cola created the tin can, in order to parachute Coke to the troops. The image of an American opening a can with his teeth has become a symbol of manhood and bravery. However, the can's importance is not limited to this image or the way in which it displaced the bottle during the subsequent Vietnam War, but is outweighed by something more significant. It inaugurated the age of the `empty': a container to be discarded after its contents have been consumed.

"Without doubt, the success of Coca-Cola goes back primarily to the excellence of the organizational structure it pioneered: the pyramid. The original company comprises the tip, and the independent bottlers and distributors come below it, forming the base. At first, this unique structure enabled it to obtain the necessary financing to saturate the American market. Later, it helped the company avoid Roosevelt's campaign against monopolies and finally allowed Coca-Cola to infiltrate the world. In opening world markets, the company relied on establishing independent franchises headed by well-known local capitalists in every country. This practice produced astounding results. Most strikingly, the American bottle came to symbolize indigenous nationalism.

"Perhaps you have heard the story of the Japanese man who trembled with joy when he was served a bottle of Coca-Cola in a Paris restaurant. He really believed the restaurant's management had especially honored him by flying in his national drink from Tokyo.

"To further illustrate the bottle's significance, let me draw your attention to the article published in the Nov. 2, 1976 issue of the well-known French newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique. It mentioned that the president of Coca-Cola, in cooperation with a number of other presidents of large American corporations, had long been grooming Jimmy Carter as a candidate for president of the United States.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this article, which you have undoubtedly read, says that the presidents of the companies mentioned above created a committee of ten politicians, among them the American president himself and his vice president, Walter Mondale. They represent the American branch of what is called the Trilateral Commission, founded by David Rockefeller in 1973. Professor Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor to the American president, managed it until very recently. It is called the Trilateral Commission because it united North America, Western Europe, and Japan for a specific goal-to confront the third world as well as leftist forces in Western Europe.

"If Coca-Cola has been so influential in the greatest and richest country in the world, you can imagine how dominant it is in third world countries, especially in our poor little country.

"Actually, we are justified in believing what is said about this slender bottle and how it played a decisive role in the choice of our mode of life, the inclinations of our tastes, the presidents and kings of our countries, the wars we participated in, and the treaties we entered into.,

The stillness hanging over the Committee seemed to deepen. I decided I might be the cause. Carried away by the subject, I had prolonged my speech more than necessary. But I soon got a feeling that I had "stepped on someone's toes," a common expression in the Committee's language, used to show a person he had inadvertently committed an offense or error.

I was still without my trousers and shorts. I felt completely naked before the Committee, not only in the physical sense, but figuratively, too. I was entirely at their mercy.

The strange thing was, in the last few minutes I had gotten a vague feeling that I could strike back at them, or somehow turn the tables on them.

Stubby cleared his throat. I was beginning to loathe him as much as he loathed me. After seeking permission from the old man, he addressed me in an affected manner, "Your answer reveals the range of your knowledge of current events. We hope you have equal competence regarding historical questions."

The Blond's light-colored eyes gleamed. He said to his colleague Stubby, "If you would permit me…"

Then to me, "We will test this point without delay. In view of the importance you gave the pyramidal structure in your speech, let the Great Pyramid be our topic. I don't doubt that you hope to be ensconced at its apex. However, you are absolutely free to start from any point."

At first, I was elated. This was a subject I knew well simply by being Egyptian. I knew it like the back of my hand. However, I had a sneaking suspicion there was a trap here somewhere. I prayed for God to inspire me so I could steer clear of it while also sweeping away any bad impressions caused by my previous speech. He soon answered my prayers. With a flash of insight, I began to speak confidently and calmly.

"The architectural complex of the three pyramids and the Sphinx, erected some five thousand years ago, testifies to the genius of its builders, but is still one of the mysteries that defy human intelligence.

"No doubt, we all followed the American scholar's recent attempt to unravel this mystery by using advanced electronic equipment. It revealed nothing.

"Members of the learned community differ as to how and why the pyramids were built. Among them are those who believe they were built as observatories to record and predict astronomical events. However, Davidson says that the exterior surfaces of the Great Pyramid were designed to reflect light, as would a sundial, and so function as a calendar indicating the dates to sow and reap.