Today, I invite all of you to write to Unilever CEO Paul Polman, to warn him that the companies’ facilities will be targeted if the IMF loan proceeds and the Austerity measures continue in Egypt.
This is the email I sent…
Paul.Polman@Unilever.com
Dear Mr. Polman,
Unilever recently inaugurated a new detergent factory in Egypt, giving your company a great advantage in the emerging African and Middle East markets. The future looks bright for Unilever in Egypt. The same cannot be said for the Egyptian people.
You have chosen to do business with a military dictator who overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected government. Human rights violations are rampant, and freedoms are severely curtailed. The regime of Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has pushed through economic policies that have increased the poverty and suffering of the population; and he has done so largely for the benefit of companies like yours.
Egypt is now on the brink contracting a $12 billion, 20 year debt to the IMF. The Egyptian people were not consulted about this debt, but they will have to pay for it, and they wil have to suffer the harsh Austerity measures the IMF demands. And again, this is being done for your sake, and for the sake of companies like Unilever.
You owe it to the people of Egypt to stand with them, not against them, and to use the tremendous influence of your company to support the popular will and aspirations. If you do not, then you should know that there is an ongoing revolution in Egypt, and Unilever will be held accountable for the hardships the people suffer for the sake of your profitability.
Investing in oppression is a bad business strategy. The revolutionary movement will impose its own conditions upon companies like Unilever; if you want to remain profitable, you must support freedom and democracy. Where there is no justice, there will be no profitability. It is a fair exchange.