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Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a small open space deep in the of Peru jungle when he detected sounds coming closer through the lush jungle.

He realized that he stood hemmed in, and froze.

“A single individual positioned, pointing with an bow and arrow,” he states. “Unexpectedly he became aware that I was present and I started to flee.”

He found himself encountering the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the tiny community of Nueva Oceania—had been virtually a neighbor to these wandering people, who reject interaction with outsiders.

An updated document issued by a advocacy organisation indicates there are a minimum of 196 of what it calls “remote communities” left in the world. This tribe is thought to be the largest. The study states half of these communities may be decimated over the coming ten years should administrations don't do additional actions to defend them.

The report asserts the biggest threats stem from deforestation, mining or exploration for crude. Uncontacted groups are extremely susceptible to ordinary illness—therefore, it says a threat is caused by exposure with evangelical missionaries and online personalities in pursuit of engagement.

Lately, Mashco Piro people have been venturing to Nueva Oceania increasingly, as reported by residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's hamlet of a handful of clans, sitting elevated on the edges of the Tauhamanu waterway in the heart of the Peruvian jungle, 10 hours from the most accessible village by boat.

This region is not recognised as a preserved zone for uncontacted groups, and deforestation operations function here.

According to Tomas that, sometimes, the sound of heavy equipment can be noticed continuously, and the Mashco Piro people are witnessing their jungle damaged and destroyed.

Within the village, people say they are divided. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they also possess deep admiration for their “brothers” who live in the forest and wish to safeguard them.

“Permit them to live according to their traditions, we must not change their culture. For this reason we maintain our distance,” explains Tomas.

Residents in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the harm to the community's way of life, the risk of conflict and the chance that timber workers might expose the Mashco Piro to illnesses they have no defense to.

During a visit in the village, the Mashco Piro made their presence felt again. Letitia, a young mother with a toddler child, was in the woodland picking produce when she detected them.

“There were calls, sounds from others, many of them. As though there were a whole group calling out,” she shared with us.

That was the initial occasion she had met the group and she fled. An hour later, her mind was continually pounding from terror.

“Since operate timber workers and companies clearing the woodland they are fleeing, possibly because of dread and they arrive close to us,” she said. “We are uncertain how they will behave with us. That's what scares me.”

Recently, a pair of timber workers were confronted by the tribe while fishing. One was hit by an bow to the stomach. He lived, but the other man was found lifeless days later with multiple arrow wounds in his body.

Authorities in Peru maintains a policy of non-contact with remote tribes, making it prohibited to start encounters with them.

The strategy began in the neighboring country following many years of lobbying by tribal advocacy organizations, who noted that early exposure with isolated people resulted to entire groups being wiped out by sickness, hardship and malnutrition.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in Peru made initial contact with the world outside, a significant portion of their population died within a matter of years. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua people faced the similar destiny.

“Secluded communities are highly vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any interaction may transmit sicknesses, and even the most common illnesses may eliminate them,” states an advocate from a local advocacy organization. “Culturally too, any interaction or intrusion could be very harmful to their way of life and well-being as a society.”

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