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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a modest glade within in the of Peru jungle when he detected movements drawing near through the dense jungle.

He realized that he had been surrounded, and halted.

“One person was standing, aiming with an projectile,” he states. “Unexpectedly he noticed that I was present and I commenced to flee.”

He had come face to face the Mashco Piro tribe. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the tiny community of Nueva Oceania—was virtually a local to these nomadic people, who shun interaction with strangers.

A new report issued by a rights organization indicates there are no fewer than 196 termed “remote communities” left globally. The group is considered to be the biggest. The report states half of these tribes may be decimated in the next decade unless authorities don't do additional to protect them.

It argues the most significant dangers come from timber harvesting, mining or drilling for petroleum. Remote communities are exceptionally vulnerable to ordinary sickness—therefore, the report says a danger is caused by contact with religious missionaries and social media influencers looking for attention.

In recent times, the Mashco Piro have been appearing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, as reported by residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishing village of seven or eight families, located high on the banks of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the of Peru rainforest, a ten-hour journey from the nearest settlement by canoe.

The area is not recognised as a preserved zone for isolated tribes, and logging companies work here.

Tomas says that, sometimes, the noise of logging machinery can be detected continuously, and the tribe members are witnessing their forest disrupted and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, people say they are divided. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold deep regard for their “brothers” dwelling in the woodland and wish to safeguard them.

“Permit them to live in their own way, we are unable to change their culture. This is why we keep our distance,” says Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the destruction to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the risk of conflict and the likelihood that deforestation crews might introduce the community to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

While we were in the community, the Mashco Piro made themselves known again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a woman with a toddler child, was in the forest picking produce when she heard them.

“We detected cries, sounds from people, a large number of them. Like it was a crowd calling out,” she told us.

This marked the first instance she had come across the Mashco Piro and she ran. After sixty minutes, her head was continually racing from anxiety.

“Because operate loggers and companies cutting down the woodland they're running away, possibly out of fear and they come close to us,” she said. “It is unclear how they might react with us. This is what terrifies me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were confronted by the tribe while catching fish. A single person was wounded by an bow to the stomach. He lived, but the second individual was located lifeless after several days with nine injuries in his body.

The Peruvian government follows a policy of avoiding interaction with remote tribes, establishing it as prohibited to start interactions with them.

This approach began in Brazil following many years of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who observed that initial exposure with secluded communities lead to entire communities being wiped out by disease, hardship and starvation.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in Peru came into contact with the broader society, a significant portion of their population succumbed within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua people experienced the identical outcome.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are highly at risk—in terms of health, any contact could transmit illnesses, and even the most common illnesses may decimate them,” states an advocate from a local advocacy organization. “In cultural terms, any contact or interference could be very harmful to their existence and health as a society.”

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