Kin within this Forest: This Battle to Safeguard an Isolated Rainforest Tribe

A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a small clearing deep in the Peruvian jungle when he noticed sounds approaching through the thick jungle.

It dawned on him that he stood encircled, and stood still.

“A single individual stood, directing with an arrow,” he states. “Unexpectedly he became aware I was here and I started to flee.”

He ended up face to face the Mashco Piro. For decades, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny settlement of Nueva Oceania—was virtually a neighbor to these itinerant tribe, who avoid interaction with outsiders.

A new document from a human rights organisation indicates there are at least 196 of what it calls “isolated tribes” in existence globally. The group is thought to be the largest. The report states half of these communities could be eliminated over the coming ten years unless authorities don't do more measures to safeguard them.

The report asserts the most significant risks come from timber harvesting, mining or operations for petroleum. Uncontacted groups are highly vulnerable to ordinary illness—therefore, the report says a risk is posed by exposure with proselytizers and digital content creators looking for attention.

In recent times, the Mashco Piro have been appearing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishing community of several households, sitting high on the banks of the local river in the heart of the of Peru rainforest, 10 hours from the closest village by watercraft.

The territory is not classified as a safeguarded reserve for remote communities, and logging companies function here.

Tomas reports that, at times, the noise of heavy equipment can be detected continuously, and the tribe members are witnessing their woodland disrupted and destroyed.

In Nueva Oceania, residents state they are conflicted. They fear the tribal weapons but they also have profound respect for their “brothers” residing in the woodland and want to safeguard them.

“Let them live in their own way, we can't modify their way of life. For this reason we maintain our separation,” states Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are worried about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of violence and the likelihood that deforestation crews might subject the tribe to illnesses they have no immunity to.

During a visit in the settlement, the group appeared again. Letitia, a young mother with a young child, was in the jungle gathering food when she noticed them.

“There were shouting, sounds from others, numerous of them. As if there were a crowd shouting,” she shared with us.

That was the initial occasion she had met the tribe and she ran. An hour later, her head was continually throbbing from anxiety.

“Because there are deforestation crews and operations clearing the jungle they're running away, possibly out of fear and they end up near us,” she said. “It is unclear how they will behave to us. That's what frightens me.”

Recently, two loggers were assaulted by the tribe while angling. One was hit by an arrow to the stomach. He recovered, but the other man was discovered dead days later with several injuries in his physique.

The Peruvian government has a strategy of avoiding interaction with remote tribes, rendering it illegal to start contact with them.

This approach originated in a nearby nation after decades of campaigning by community representatives, who noted that early contact with remote tribes could lead to whole populations being decimated by sickness, destitution and hunger.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau community in the country first encountered with the outside world, a significant portion of their community perished within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe experienced the similar destiny.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are extremely vulnerable—in terms of health, any exposure could transmit diseases, and including the most common illnesses could wipe them out,” explains Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “From a societal perspective, any interaction or interference can be extremely detrimental to their existence and well-being as a society.”

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