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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a small clearing within in the of Peru rainforest when he noticed footsteps coming closer through the thick forest.

He realized that he had been encircled, and halted.

“A single individual stood, directing using an bow and arrow,” he remembers. “And somehow he detected that I was present and I began to escape.”

He ended up confronting the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—residing in the modest community of Nueva Oceania—was virtually a neighbour to these itinerant people, who avoid interaction with strangers.

An updated document issued by a rights organisation indicates exist no fewer than 196 termed “remote communities” in existence globally. This tribe is believed to be the most numerous. The study states a significant portion of these communities could be eliminated over the coming ten years if governments fail to take additional measures to safeguard them.

The report asserts the biggest risks come from logging, digging or drilling for crude. Uncontacted groups are highly at risk to common sickness—therefore, the report notes a threat is presented by exposure with proselytizers and digital content creators seeking clicks.

In recent times, the Mashco Piro have been venturing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, as reported by inhabitants.

This settlement is a angling hamlet of several families, perched atop on the shores of the local river deep within the Peruvian jungle, 10 hours from the most accessible village by canoe.

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

Tomas says that, on occasion, the racket of heavy equipment can be heard continuously, and the community are witnessing their forest disrupted and destroyed.

Within the village, residents say they are divided. They fear the tribal weapons but they also possess profound admiration for their “brothers” who live in the forest and desire to protect them.

“Allow them to live as they live, we can't modify their way of life. This is why we maintain our distance,” explains Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the harm to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of violence and the possibility that timber workers might expose the community to illnesses they have no immunity to.

While we were in the settlement, the tribe made themselves known again. Letitia, a woman with a young girl, was in the woodland gathering produce when she heard them.

“There were calls, sounds from people, many of them. Like it was a large gathering yelling,” she shared with us.

It was the first instance she had encountered the tribe and she ran. After sixty minutes, her head was still throbbing from terror.

“Since operate loggers and operations clearing the forest they are escaping, maybe because of dread and they end up in proximity to us,” she said. “We don't know how they will behave to us. That is the thing that frightens me.”

Recently, two individuals were confronted by the tribe while catching fish. A single person was hit by an bow to the abdomen. He lived, but the second individual was discovered lifeless after several days with multiple injuries in his body.

The Peruvian government maintains a approach of no engagement with isolated people, establishing it as forbidden to commence contact with them.

This approach originated in a nearby nation following many years of lobbying by community representatives, who observed that early interaction with remote tribes lead to entire communities being decimated by sickness, destitution and starvation.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in Peru made initial contact with the outside world, 50% of their community perished within a short period. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe experienced the similar destiny.

“Secluded communities are extremely susceptible—epidemiologically, any exposure may introduce diseases, and even the most common illnesses might eliminate them,” explains a representative from a tribal support group. “From a societal perspective, any exposure or interference could be very harmful to their life and health as a group.”

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