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Going Mobile: Text Messages Guide Filipino Protesters
Raymond Palatino, far right, organizes protest plans with a group of students. Some protesters use plastic wrap to protect their cellphones in case police use a water cannon.
(By Mary Jordan -- The Washington Post)
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Caught up in the melee, ducking from the swinging batons, Palatino heard his phone ping loudly.
"GET OUT OF THERE. You are in a dangerous place," warned the text, from a friend who could see that Palatino was about to be pinned between the crowd and a wall.
An officer grabbed Palatino.
"ID! ID! Now!" the red-faced officer demanded.
A small group of officers closed in around Palatino, whose eyes were suddenly wide with terror.
Students who saw it quickly typed a text alert to others, using Palatino's nickname: "Mong is being arrested."
But as suddenly as they had grabbed him, the police let him go and ran off to help another group of officers who were beating a group of students.
Relieved but shaken, Palatino walked quickly toward a Shakey's Pizza on España Boulevard, where earlier texts had instructed everyone to meet once the protest ended. As he walked, his phone pinged loudly with text after text.
Like other leaders, Palatino was responsible for making sure everyone in his group was safe and accounted for.
Texts of "WHERE ARE YOU?" raced through the crowd.
After an hour, 10 people out of the 1,000 had not replied. So organizers dispatched people to police stations and hospitals to check for the missing.
An hour later, students started filtering home in time for the 6:30 news, which was filled with graphic scenes of police officers beating the young protesters.
Just after 7 p.m., Palatino received a text with the final tally: 34 students injured, eight seriously. Ten people detained, then released.
"Before, we had no choice but to keep quiet and listen to the president," Palatino said, still holding his tiny phone. "This is a development for democracy."
