Brothers in this Jungle: This Battle to Safeguard an Isolated Amazon Community

The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a modest clearing far in the of Peru Amazon when he noticed footsteps drawing near through the dense woodland.

It dawned on him that he stood surrounded, and halted.

“A single individual stood, pointing using an arrow,” he states. “Somehow he noticed of my presence and I started to flee.”

He found himself face to face the Mashco Piro tribe. For decades, Tomas—residing in the modest community of Nueva Oceania—served as almost a neighbor to these wandering tribe, who avoid interaction with foreigners.

Tomas shows concern regarding the Mashco Piro
Tomas expresses care towards the Mashco Piro: “Allow them to live according to their traditions”

A recent document by a human rights organisation states remain no fewer than 196 described as “remote communities” remaining worldwide. The Mashco Piro is considered to be the most numerous. The report says half of these groups might be eliminated over the coming ten years should administrations neglect to implement additional measures to safeguard them.

It argues the biggest risks are from timber harvesting, extraction or drilling for crude. Remote communities are extremely vulnerable to basic sickness—as such, the study says a risk is presented by contact with religious missionaries and online personalities seeking engagement.

Lately, Mashco Piro people have been coming to Nueva Oceania more and more, as reported by residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's hamlet of several clans, perched high on the shores of the Tauhamanu waterway in the center of the Peruvian Amazon, half a day from the closest village by canoe.

The area is not recognised as a safeguarded area for remote communities, and deforestation operations function here.

Tomas reports that, sometimes, the racket of heavy equipment can be detected day and night, and the community are seeing their woodland disrupted and ruined.

Within the village, people state they are torn. They dread the projectiles but they hold profound admiration for their “relatives” residing in the jungle and wish to safeguard them.

“Allow them to live in their own way, we are unable to change their traditions. This is why we keep our distance,” states Tomas.

Tribal members photographed in Peru's Madre de Dios area
The community captured in the local area, in mid-2024

Residents in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the harm to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the risk of conflict and the likelihood that timber workers might subject the tribe to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

While we were in the community, the tribe made themselves known again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a woman with a two-year-old girl, was in the woodland picking produce when she noticed them.

“We detected calls, shouts from people, many of them. As though it was a crowd yelling,” she shared with us.

That was the first time she had come across the tribe and she ran. After sixty minutes, her thoughts was persistently throbbing from terror.

“Because operate timber workers and firms cutting down the forest they are fleeing, maybe out of fear and they come in proximity to us,” she stated. “We don't know how they will behave with us. That's what scares me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were attacked by the Mashco Piro while angling. One was wounded by an projectile to the stomach. He survived, but the second individual was discovered deceased subsequently with several arrow wounds in his frame.

This settlement is a tiny angling community in the Peruvian rainforest
The village is a tiny fishing hamlet in the of Peru forest

The administration follows a policy of no engagement with remote tribes, making it prohibited to initiate encounters with them.

The policy was first adopted in a nearby nation after decades of lobbying by tribal advocacy organizations, who saw that initial interaction with isolated people could lead to entire groups being wiped out by disease, destitution and starvation.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in Peru made initial contact with the outside world, half of their people perished within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua tribe suffered the similar destiny.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are extremely susceptible—epidemiologically, any exposure may spread diseases, and even the most common illnesses could wipe them out,” states an advocate from a tribal support group. “In cultural terms, any exposure or interference may be highly damaging to their life and survival as a society.”

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Beth Brown
Beth Brown

A tech-savvy entertainment blogger passionate about streaming services and digital media trends, sharing insights and reviews.