Brothers in this Jungle: The Struggle to Protect an Remote Amazon Group

The resident Tomas Anez Dos Santos worked in a tiny glade far in the Peruvian jungle when he heard movements approaching through the lush forest.

He became aware that he stood hemmed in, and stood still.

“A single individual was standing, aiming using an arrow,” he states. “Somehow he detected that I was present and I commenced to flee.”

He ended up confronting the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the modest village of Nueva Oceania—served as practically a neighbor to these itinerant tribe, who reject contact with strangers.

Tomas feels protective for the Mashco Piro
Tomas expresses care towards the Mashco Piro: “Allow them to live as they live”

An updated document issued by a human rights organisation claims there are at least 196 of what it calls “remote communities” remaining in the world. The group is thought to be the biggest. The study says half of these tribes may be wiped out over the coming ten years if governments fail to take further measures to safeguard them.

It argues the biggest threats are from deforestation, digging or drilling for crude. Remote communities are extremely at risk to ordinary sickness—as such, the report notes a danger is posed by interaction with proselytizers and digital content creators in pursuit of clicks.

Recently, Mashco Piro people have been appearing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, as reported by locals.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's hamlet of several households, located atop on the edges of the Tauhamanu River deep within the of Peru jungle, a ten-hour journey from the nearest town by watercraft.

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

According to Tomas that, at times, the noise of industrial tools can be noticed around the clock, and the community are observing their woodland damaged and destroyed.

Among the locals, inhabitants state they are divided. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they also possess profound regard for their “relatives” residing in the jungle and want to safeguard them.

“Permit them to live according to their traditions, we can't alter their traditions. That's why we preserve our distance,” says Tomas.

Mashco Piro people captured in the Madre de Dios territory
Tribal members seen in Peru's Madre de Dios region territory, June 2024

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the damage to the tribe's survival, the risk of conflict and the likelihood that loggers might subject the Mashco Piro to illnesses they have no immunity to.

At the time in the settlement, the Mashco Piro appeared again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a young mother with a two-year-old girl, was in the jungle picking fruit when she noticed them.

“We heard shouting, cries from others, many of them. Like there was a whole group calling out,” she informed us.

It was the first time she had come across the group and she fled. An hour later, her head was still racing from fear.

“Because exist timber workers and firms clearing the jungle they are escaping, perhaps due to terror and they end up in proximity to us,” she explained. “We are uncertain how they will behave towards us. That's what terrifies me.”

Recently, two loggers were assaulted by the tribe while angling. A single person was hit by an projectile to the stomach. He survived, but the second individual was found dead after several days with multiple injuries in his physique.

Nueva Oceania is a modest angling hamlet in the Peruvian rainforest
Nueva Oceania is a small fishing community in the of Peru jungle

The administration maintains a approach of avoiding interaction with isolated people, rendering it forbidden to commence interactions with them.

This approach was first adopted in Brazil after decades of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who saw that initial exposure with isolated people lead to whole populations being decimated by disease, hardship and starvation.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau tribe in the country came into contact with the broader society, a significant portion of their community succumbed within a matter of years. A decade later, the Muruhanua people suffered the identical outcome.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are extremely at risk—in terms of health, any interaction might spread diseases, and including the basic infections might decimate them,” explains a representative from a local advocacy organization. “From a societal perspective, any contact or interference can be very harmful to their life and well-being as a society.”

For those living nearby of {

Christopher Wright
Christopher Wright

A tech enthusiast and business strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and startup consulting.