🔗 Share this article

The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a small open space deep in the of Peru jungle when he noticed sounds coming closer through the thick forest.

He became aware that he had been surrounded, and stood still.

“A single individual was standing, pointing with an bow and arrow,” he states. “And somehow he detected of my presence and I commenced to run.”

He found himself encountering the Mashco Piro tribe. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the modest community of Nueva Oceania—was virtually a neighbour to these nomadic tribe, who shun interaction with foreigners.

A recent study by a advocacy organization claims there are at least 196 of what it calls “remote communities” in existence in the world. The group is thought to be the largest. It claims 50% of these communities could be wiped out in the next decade should administrations fail to take more measures to safeguard them.

It argues the greatest threats are from deforestation, mining or exploration for oil. Isolated tribes are exceptionally susceptible to common sickness—as such, the report states a risk is presented by contact with evangelical missionaries and social media influencers in pursuit of clicks.

Lately, Mashco Piro people have been coming to Nueva Oceania more and more, as reported by locals.

The village is a fishing hamlet of seven or eight clans, perched high on the banks of the Tauhamanu waterway deep within the Peruvian Amazon, half a day from the most accessible village by boat.

The territory is not designated as a preserved reserve for isolated tribes, and logging companies work here.

Tomas says that, on occasion, the racket of logging machinery can be noticed around the clock, and the tribe members are witnessing their woodland damaged and devastated.

Within the village, people say they are conflicted. They fear the tribal weapons but they also possess profound respect for their “relatives” dwelling in the forest and desire to defend them.

“Let them live as they live, we must not alter their traditions. For this reason we preserve our separation,” says Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the harm to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of conflict and the possibility that deforestation crews might subject the Mashco Piro to illnesses they have no immunity to.

While we were in the community, the tribe appeared again. Letitia, a woman with a two-year-old girl, was in the jungle gathering fruit when she detected them.

“We heard cries, shouts from individuals, numerous of them. Like there was a crowd shouting,” she shared with us.

That was the first time she had come across the tribe and she escaped. Subsequently, her mind was continually pounding from fear.

“As operate loggers and operations clearing the forest they are fleeing, possibly because of dread and they end up near us,” she said. “It is unclear how they will behave towards us. This is what terrifies me.”

In 2022, a pair of timber workers were attacked by the group while fishing. One was wounded by an projectile to the stomach. He lived, but the second individual was located dead after several days with several injuries in his physique.

Authorities in Peru follows a approach of avoiding interaction with secluded communities, making it prohibited to start contact with them.

This approach was first adopted in Brazil after decades of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who noted that early contact with remote tribes lead to entire communities being eliminated by sickness, poverty and malnutrition.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country first encountered with the broader society, half of their population succumbed within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua community experienced the similar destiny.

“Remote tribes are extremely at risk—epidemiologically, any contact might introduce sicknesses, and even the simplest ones could decimate them,” says Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any interaction or interference may be very harmful to their existence and well-being as a society.”

For those living nearby of {