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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a small open space within in the of Peru rainforest when he detected footsteps coming closer through the dense woodland.

He became aware he was hemmed in, and stood still.

“One person positioned, aiming using an projectile,” he remembers. “Unexpectedly he noticed that I was present and I began to escape.”

He ended up face to face members of the Mashco Piro. For decades, Tomas—residing in the tiny village of Nueva Oceania—had been practically a neighbour to these nomadic people, who avoid contact with foreigners.

An updated report by a rights organisation states remain no fewer than 196 described as “isolated tribes” in existence globally. This tribe is thought to be the most numerous. The study claims half of these communities could be decimated over the coming ten years if governments don't do more measures to safeguard them.

It claims the most significant dangers are from deforestation, digging or drilling for petroleum. Isolated tribes are exceptionally vulnerable to common illness—as such, the study states a danger is presented by contact with evangelical missionaries and online personalities in pursuit of engagement.

In recent times, members of the tribe have been appearing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, according to inhabitants.

Nueva Oceania is a angling hamlet of a handful of clans, sitting elevated on the banks of the Tauhamanu River deep within the Peruvian Amazon, half a day from the nearest town by boat.

This region is not designated as a protected zone for uncontacted groups, and timber firms function here.

Tomas says that, at times, the sound of heavy equipment can be noticed around the clock, and the Mashco Piro people are witnessing their forest disturbed and destroyed.

In Nueva Oceania, inhabitants report they are torn. They fear the tribal weapons but they also possess deep regard for their “brothers” residing in the woodland and wish to defend them.

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

Residents in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the risk of conflict and the likelihood that deforestation crews might introduce the tribe to diseases they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the village, the group appeared again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a resident with a young daughter, was in the forest collecting fruit when she detected them.

“We heard shouting, sounds from individuals, numerous of them. As though there was a whole group shouting,” she shared with us.

That was the first time she had encountered the Mashco Piro and she ran. Subsequently, her thoughts was persistently pounding from terror.

“As exist timber workers and firms destroying the forest they're running away, perhaps out of fear and they end up close to us,” she explained. “It is unclear what their response may be to us. This is what scares me.”

In 2022, two individuals were confronted by the group while angling. One was struck by an arrow to the stomach. He survived, but the other man was located dead after several days with several arrow wounds in his physique.

Authorities in Peru maintains a policy of no engagement with remote tribes, rendering it prohibited to initiate contact with them.

This approach was first adopted in the neighboring country after decades of lobbying by community representatives, who noted that first interaction with secluded communities could lead to entire communities being decimated by disease, poverty and starvation.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau community in the country came into contact with the broader society, a significant portion of their people died within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua community suffered the same fate.

“Secluded communities are very vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any exposure might transmit diseases, and even the basic infections could decimate them,” says Issrail Aquisse from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any interaction or interference can be extremely detrimental to their life and health as a society.”

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