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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a small open space far in the of Peru rainforest when he detected sounds approaching through the dense woodland.

It dawned on him that he stood hemmed in, and froze.

“A single individual stood, directing with an arrow,” he states. “And somehow he became aware that I was present and I commenced to escape.”

He found himself face to face the Mashco Piro tribe. For decades, Tomas—residing in the tiny settlement of Nueva Oceania—served as practically a neighbor to these itinerant tribe, who reject contact with strangers.

A recent study from a advocacy organization indicates remain a minimum of 196 described as “isolated tribes” left worldwide. The group is believed to be the largest. The report says a significant portion of these groups might be eliminated within ten years unless authorities fail to take further measures to safeguard them.

It argues the biggest dangers stem from logging, digging or exploration for petroleum. Isolated tribes are exceptionally vulnerable to common illness—therefore, the study states a danger is posed by contact with evangelical missionaries and digital content creators seeking attention.

Lately, the Mashco Piro have been coming to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, according to inhabitants.

The village is a fishermen's village of seven or eight clans, sitting atop on the banks of the local river deep within the of Peru jungle, a ten-hour journey from the closest settlement by watercraft.

The territory is not recognised as a preserved area for remote communities, and logging companies work here.

Tomas says that, on occasion, the racket of industrial tools can be detected continuously, and the Mashco Piro people are witnessing their woodland disturbed and ruined.

Within the village, inhabitants report they are torn. They fear the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold profound regard for their “kin” residing in the forest and desire to protect them.

“Let them live in their own way, we must not modify their way of life. That's why we keep our separation,” says Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the destruction to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the danger of aggression and the possibility that loggers might expose the tribe to sicknesses they have no defense to.

During a visit in the village, the Mashco Piro made their presence felt again. Letitia, a woman with a two-year-old girl, was in the forest picking food when she heard them.

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

It was the initial occasion she had encountered the tribe and she fled. An hour later, her thoughts was persistently throbbing from anxiety.

“As there are loggers and companies destroying the woodland they are escaping, possibly out of fear and they arrive near us,” she explained. “It is unclear what their response may be to us. This is what frightens me.”

Two years ago, a pair of timber workers were attacked by the group while fishing. A single person was hit by an arrow to the stomach. He recovered, but the other man was found deceased days later with multiple injuries in his body.

The administration has a approach of non-contact with secluded communities, establishing it as illegal to commence contact with them.

The policy was first adopted in the neighboring country following many years of lobbying by indigenous rights groups, who saw that initial interaction with remote tribes lead to entire communities being eliminated by illness, poverty and hunger.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in the country made initial contact with the outside world, a significant portion of their community died within a few years. A decade later, the Muruhanua community faced the same fate.

“Secluded communities are extremely at risk—in terms of health, any interaction might introduce diseases, and even the basic infections may eliminate them,” explains an advocate from a Peruvian indigenous rights group. “In cultural terms, any interaction or intrusion could be extremely detrimental to their way of life and health as a group.”

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