Kin throughout the Forest: The Struggle to Safeguard an Remote Rainforest Group

The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a modest open space far in the of Peru rainforest when he noticed movements drawing near through the thick jungle.

He realized that he stood encircled, and stood still.

“A single individual was standing, aiming with an arrow,” he recalls. “Unexpectedly he became aware that I was present and I began to flee.”

He ended up face to face the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny village of Nueva Oceania—had been virtually a neighbour to these nomadic tribe, who reject engagement with strangers.

Tomas shows concern for the Mashco Piro
Tomas expresses care towards the Mashco Piro: “Let them live according to their traditions”

A new report by a rights organization claims remain no fewer than 196 termed “remote communities” remaining worldwide. The group is thought to be the most numerous. It states half of these communities may be decimated over the coming ten years unless authorities neglect to implement additional to protect them.

The report asserts the greatest threats stem from deforestation, digging or operations for petroleum. Uncontacted groups are exceptionally susceptible to ordinary sickness—consequently, it states a danger is caused by contact with evangelical missionaries and online personalities looking for clicks.

Lately, members of the tribe have been appearing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from locals.

This settlement is a angling hamlet of a handful of clans, located high on the edges of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the Peruvian jungle, a ten-hour journey from the most accessible town by canoe.

This region is not designated as a safeguarded zone for isolated tribes, and deforestation operations operate here.

Tomas reports that, at times, the sound of heavy equipment can be noticed around the clock, and the community are observing their woodland disrupted and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, inhabitants state they are divided. They dread the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold profound regard for their “relatives” dwelling in the woodland and wish to protect them.

“Allow them to live in their own way, we are unable to modify their way of life. That's why we preserve our separation,” states Tomas.

The community captured in the local province
The community captured in the Madre de Dios province, recently

Residents in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the harm to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of aggression and the chance that timber workers might introduce the community to illnesses they have no defense to.

While we were in the settlement, the tribe made themselves known again. Letitia, a resident with a toddler daughter, was in the jungle gathering fruit when she detected them.

“There were cries, sounds from people, a large number of them. As though there were a large gathering shouting,” she shared with us.

That was the initial occasion she had met the group and she escaped. An hour later, her mind was persistently pounding from fear.

“Since operate timber workers and firms clearing the forest they're running away, perhaps due to terror and they come in proximity to us,” she explained. “We don't know how they might react towards us. That's what frightens me.”

Two years ago, two individuals were assaulted by the Mashco Piro while catching fish. One man was struck by an bow to the stomach. He survived, but the other person was found deceased after several days with nine injuries in his frame.

This settlement is a tiny angling community in the Peruvian forest
The village is a small river village in the of Peru forest

The Peruvian government has a strategy of non-contact with secluded communities, establishing it as forbidden to commence contact with them.

This approach was first adopted in Brazil after decades of lobbying by community representatives, who noted that early interaction with secluded communities lead to whole populations being eliminated by illness, poverty and starvation.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country first encountered with the outside world, half of their people perished within a short period. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua community faced the same fate.

“Remote tribes are highly at risk—in terms of health, any contact may transmit diseases, and even the basic infections may decimate them,” states a representative from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any contact or disruption can be very harmful to their way of life and well-being as a community.”

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Susan French
Susan French

An experienced journalist with a passion for investigative reporting and a focus on Central European affairs.