"Khilafat Cola: Bottling Suffering, Selling Solidarity"
Minahil Muhyouddin Kharal
MBA | Quality Assurance | Asset Integrity Engineer | Chemical Engineer | Data Science
"And they say: ‘Eat, drink, and be merry’ while the world burns. But we ask: What price must pain pay before it is quenched?"
In a time where grief rains down like ashes on Gaza, where children sleep beneath shattered skies and mothers grieve for dreams buried in rubble, a curious product emerges: Khilafat Cola. A fizzy drink, wrapped in slogans of solidarity, marketed to the masses with a promise— “Drink for Palestine.”
But behind the bold lettering and bottled bubbles lies a bitter truth: solidarity has been reduced to a sales pitch, and resistance commodified into a cash cow.
The Taste of Exploitation
Khilafat Cola claims to give. But how much does it take?
For every bottle sold, a fraction of profits, they claim, will help Palestine. But let’s do the math:
It’s not charity; it’s capitalizing on crisis. Real solidarity doesn’t leave millions in corporate pockets while handing pennies to the oppressed (Klein, 2000).
"Do not sell the cries of the oppressed for gold. Their voices are priceless; their pain is sacred."
Philanthrocapitalism in a Time of War
History repeats itself, and tragedy always seems to sell well:
And now, Palestine is being bottled up and sold, its pain turned into profit margins. When genocide becomes a branding opportunity, we must ask ourselves: “Is this solidarity, or is this exploitation?”
Resistance Cannot Be Commercialized
Under Article 1 of the Geneva Conventions, the world is obligated to act—not profit—during genocide (ICRC, 1949). Yet Khilafat Cola turns human suffering into a transaction, trivializing one of the world’s most brutal struggles.
Think of Gaza today:
What does Khilafat Cola offer them? A drop in the ocean, branded with slogans of care. But care needs no slogan.
"Let not your love for justice be sold, For in their ruins lie stories the world cannot hold."
领英推荐
Solidarity That Matters
Palestine doesn’t need fizzy drinks. Palestine needs action. Organizations like MAP (Medical Aid for Palestinians), UNRWA, and Doctors Without Borders ensure that 100% of your aid—not 5 cents—goes to food, medicine, and shelter (UNRWA, 2023).
Because true solidarity is not something you sell. It’s something you show—through sacrifice, accountability, and justice.
A Call to Conscience
"Do not sip from a cup filled with tears, For the day will come when justice asks: ‘What did you do?’"
Khilafat Cola’s glittering promises reflect back at us a dark truth: we’ve allowed tragedy to become trendy, and resistance to be marketed. But Palestine’s struggle is sacred. Its suffering is not a tool for sales.
As consumers, we must ask:
The time to choose is now. Let’s rise above performative gestures and demand better.
Drink no more of exploitation. Pour your efforts where they matter most.
In True Solidarity
If you want to help Palestine:
"For the cries of the oppressed are not songs to sell. They are calls to act, and we must answer well."
References
#SolidarityNotForSale #Palestine #Philanthrocapitalism #EthicsMatter #JusticeOverMarketing
Mechanical Engineer
2 个月Very well written Minahil Muhyouddin Kharal . I'd like to add that such products and initiatives protray solidarity and philanthropy but in reality, the help that they are providing to these devastated masses is just a by-product of their money making machines. One might say it is an investment to capture market shares. And this is all because we have lost empathy, we have lost our fear of God and our lust for this material world has blinded us to the point that we can't see burning children and crying mothers. Whereas acts of charity and philanthopy demand the exact opposite. They demand one's desire for the wellbeing of a fellow human supersede his/her desire for their own wellbeing.