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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a small open space far in the Peruvian rainforest when he detected sounds coming closer through the thick forest.

He became aware he was encircled, and stood still.

“A single individual stood, aiming with an bow and arrow,” he states. “And somehow he detected that I was present and I commenced to escape.”

He had come encountering the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny settlement of Nueva Oceania—had been virtually a neighbour to these nomadic tribe, who avoid engagement with foreigners.

A recent report from a human rights organisation claims there are at least 196 termed “remote communities” remaining globally. The Mashco Piro is considered to be the biggest. The study states half of these groups may be wiped out over the coming ten years unless authorities don't do more measures to safeguard them.

It claims the biggest risks stem from deforestation, extraction or exploration for petroleum. Uncontacted groups are exceptionally vulnerable to common disease—as such, the study notes a risk is posed by contact with religious missionaries and social media influencers looking for clicks.

Recently, the Mashco Piro have been coming to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from residents.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's village of several households, sitting elevated on the edges of the Tauhamanu River in the heart of the of Peru jungle, half a day from the closest settlement by canoe.

The area is not recognised as a safeguarded reserve for uncontacted groups, and timber firms work here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the sound of industrial tools can be detected day and night, and the Mashco Piro people are seeing their jungle damaged and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, residents report they are conflicted. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold strong regard for their “kin” residing in the forest and wish to safeguard them.

“Let them live in their own way, we can't change their traditions. This is why we keep our separation,” says Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are worried about the damage to the community's way of life, the risk of conflict and the likelihood that loggers might introduce the tribe to illnesses they have no defense to.

While we were in the settlement, the group made themselves known again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a resident with a young daughter, was in the forest picking food when she noticed them.

“We detected cries, sounds from individuals, numerous of them. Like there were a large gathering shouting,” she told us.

That was the first instance she had come across the Mashco Piro and she fled. Subsequently, her head was continually pounding from anxiety.

“Because there are loggers and operations destroying the forest they're running away, maybe due to terror and they come close to us,” she said. “It is unclear what their response may be towards us. That's what scares me.”

Recently, a pair of timber workers were confronted by the group while catching fish. One was hit by an projectile to the stomach. He recovered, but the second individual was discovered dead subsequently with nine injuries in his frame.

Authorities in Peru has a policy of non-contact with secluded communities, establishing it as forbidden to initiate encounters with them.

The strategy originated in a nearby nation after decades of campaigning by community representatives, who observed that early contact with secluded communities could lead to entire communities being decimated by illness, poverty and starvation.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau community in Peru first encountered with the broader society, a significant portion of their community perished within a few years. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe suffered the same fate.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are very vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any interaction may transmit illnesses, and including the most common illnesses may decimate them,” states a representative from a tribal support group. “Culturally too, any interaction or interference can be highly damaging to their existence and health as a group.”

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