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Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a tiny clearing within in the Peruvian Amazon when he detected sounds coming closer through the lush woodland.

It dawned on him that he stood surrounded, and halted.

“A single individual stood, pointing with an arrow,” he states. “Unexpectedly he noticed I was here and I commenced to run.”

He found himself encountering members of the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—who lives in the modest community of Nueva Oceania—was almost a neighbour to these nomadic tribe, who reject contact with outsiders.

An updated report issued by a human rights group states there are no fewer than 196 of what it calls “remote communities” left globally. The group is thought to be the biggest. The study states a significant portion of these groups might be wiped out over the coming ten years should administrations fail to take more actions to defend them.

The report asserts the greatest risks come from timber harvesting, digging or operations for oil. Isolated tribes are highly vulnerable to ordinary illness—as such, the study notes a danger is caused by interaction with religious missionaries and digital content creators looking for engagement.

In recent times, members of the tribe have been coming to Nueva Oceania increasingly, based on accounts from inhabitants.

The village is a fishermen's hamlet of a handful of families, located atop on the edges of the Tauhamanu River in the heart of the Peruvian rainforest, half a day from the closest settlement by canoe.

The area is not recognised as a protected zone for remote communities, and deforestation operations work here.

According to Tomas that, sometimes, the sound of logging machinery can be noticed around the clock, and the tribe members are observing their woodland disrupted and destroyed.

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

“Permit them to live according to their traditions, we must not modify their traditions. This is why we maintain our distance,” says Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the harm to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the risk of aggression and the possibility that timber workers might introduce the tribe to diseases they have no defense to.

During a visit in the community, the tribe appeared again. A young mother, a resident with a young daughter, was in the jungle gathering food when she noticed them.

“There were shouting, sounds from others, numerous of them. Like there was a whole group shouting,” she shared with us.

That was the first time she had encountered the tribe and she escaped. An hour later, her mind was continually racing from terror.

“As exist loggers and operations clearing the forest they are fleeing, maybe because of dread and they come close to us,” she stated. “We don't know how they might react to us. That's what scares me.”

Two years ago, two loggers were assaulted by the tribe while catching fish. One was wounded by an arrow to the gut. He survived, but the other man was found lifeless days later with several puncture marks in his frame.

The administration has a approach of avoiding interaction with isolated people, making it illegal to start encounters with them.

The strategy was first adopted in a nearby nation following many years of lobbying by community representatives, who noted that first interaction with secluded communities lead to entire groups being wiped out by sickness, poverty and starvation.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau community in the country came into contact with the world outside, half of their population perished within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua people suffered the similar destiny.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are extremely vulnerable—in terms of health, any exposure could introduce illnesses, and even the most common illnesses may eliminate them,” explains Issrail Aquisse from a Peruvian indigenous rights group. “Culturally too, any contact or disruption can be very harmful to their way of life and survival as a community.”

For local residents of {