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The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a small open space within in the of Peru jungle when he heard sounds approaching through the lush forest.

He became aware that he had been hemmed in, and froze.

“A single individual stood, pointing using an projectile,” he remembers. “And somehow he noticed of my presence and I began to flee.”

He ended up encountering the Mashco Piro. For decades, Tomas—who lives in the modest community of Nueva Oceania—was virtually a local to these nomadic people, who reject contact with foreigners.

A new report issued by a human rights organization states remain a minimum of 196 termed “remote communities” in existence in the world. This tribe is believed to be the biggest. The report claims half of these groups may be eliminated in the next decade unless authorities neglect to implement additional to protect them.

It argues the most significant dangers are from timber harvesting, digging or operations for oil. Remote communities are extremely vulnerable to basic sickness—as such, the study states a danger is presented by interaction with evangelical missionaries and social media influencers looking for attention.

In recent times, Mashco Piro people have been venturing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from inhabitants.

This settlement is a fishermen's community of several households, located elevated on the shores of the Tauhamanu River in the center of the Peruvian jungle, half a day from the closest village by canoe.

The area is not classified as a protected reserve for remote communities, and deforestation operations operate here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the sound of logging machinery can be detected around the clock, and the Mashco Piro people are witnessing their forest disrupted and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, residents say they are conflicted. They dread the Mashco Piro's arrows but they also possess strong admiration for their “relatives” dwelling in the woodland and want to safeguard them.

“Let them live according to their traditions, we can't modify their way of life. This is why we keep our separation,” states Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the damage to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the danger of aggression and the likelihood that timber workers might subject the community to diseases they have no immunity to.

During a visit in the settlement, the group made themselves known again. A young mother, a resident with a young daughter, was in the forest gathering fruit when she detected them.

“There were shouting, sounds from others, a large number of them. Like there was a large gathering yelling,” she told us.

This marked the first time she had come across the Mashco Piro and she ran. After sixty minutes, her thoughts was persistently racing from anxiety.

“Since exist loggers and operations cutting down the woodland they're running away, perhaps because of dread and they end up in proximity to us,” she stated. “It is unclear what their response may be towards us. That is the thing that frightens me.”

Two years ago, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the tribe while angling. One man was struck by an projectile to the abdomen. He lived, but the other person was found deceased subsequently with nine puncture marks in his physique.

Authorities in Peru has a policy of non-contact with secluded communities, making it illegal to commence interactions with them.

The policy originated in Brazil after decades of advocacy by tribal advocacy organizations, who saw that early interaction with remote tribes lead to entire communities being wiped out by illness, hardship and hunger.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau community in Peru made initial contact with the outside world, half of their people died within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua community faced the similar destiny.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are very susceptible—from a disease perspective, any interaction may spread illnesses, and including the simplest ones may eliminate them,” says Issrail Aquisse from a local advocacy organization. “Culturally too, any contact or disruption may be extremely detrimental to their way of life and well-being as a community.”

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