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Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a tiny open space far in the of Peru rainforest when he noticed footsteps approaching through the dense forest.

He became aware he was hemmed in, and froze.

“One person was standing, pointing using an bow and arrow,” he remembers. “Somehow he detected of my presence and I began to escape.”

He ended up encountering the Mashco Piro tribe. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the small community of Nueva Oceania—had been practically a neighbour to these itinerant individuals, who avoid engagement with foreigners.

A recent document issued by a advocacy group indicates exist at least 196 described as “isolated tribes” remaining in the world. This tribe is thought to be the biggest. The study states 50% of these groups may be wiped out in the next decade should administrations fail to take additional actions to defend them.

It argues the most significant risks come from deforestation, digging or drilling for petroleum. Remote communities are highly susceptible to basic illness—as such, the study says a risk is presented by contact with religious missionaries and online personalities in pursuit of engagement.

Recently, Mashco Piro people have been venturing to Nueva Oceania more and more, based on accounts from locals.

Nueva Oceania is a fishing community of seven or eight families, perched high on the shores of the Tauhamanu River in the heart of the of Peru rainforest, 10 hours from the closest village by boat.

The territory is not designated as a preserved zone for isolated tribes, and timber firms operate here.

According to Tomas that, sometimes, the sound of logging machinery can be noticed continuously, and the Mashco Piro people are observing their woodland disturbed and destroyed.

In Nueva Oceania, residents report they are divided. They dread the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold deep admiration for their “brothers” dwelling in the forest and desire to safeguard them.

“Permit them to live as they live, we must not change their traditions. This is why we maintain our separation,” explains Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the harm to the tribe's survival, the risk of violence and the possibility that deforestation crews might subject the Mashco Piro to illnesses they have no defense to.

While we were in the village, the Mashco Piro appeared again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a resident with a toddler girl, was in the forest collecting produce when she heard them.

“We heard calls, shouts from people, numerous of them. Like there were a whole group calling out,” she told us.

That was the first instance she had met the Mashco Piro and she fled. Subsequently, her thoughts was still pounding from terror.

“Because operate loggers and companies destroying the woodland they are fleeing, possibly out of fear and they end up close to us,” she explained. “We are uncertain how they will behave towards us. This is what frightens me.”

In 2022, two individuals were confronted by the group while fishing. One man was struck by an arrow to the stomach. He lived, but the other man was found dead days later with several arrow wounds in his body.

The administration maintains a strategy of no engagement with remote tribes, rendering it forbidden to start interactions with them.

This approach was first adopted in the neighboring country following many years of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who noted that initial interaction with remote tribes lead to entire groups being eliminated by disease, destitution and malnutrition.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in the country first encountered with the broader society, a significant portion of their population perished within a few years. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua people suffered the similar destiny.

“Remote tribes are very susceptible—epidemiologically, any interaction may transmit illnesses, and even the most common illnesses may wipe them out,” says a representative from a local advocacy organization. “From a societal perspective, any exposure or intrusion could be extremely detrimental to their existence and survival as a group.”

For local residents of {