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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a tiny open space within in the Peruvian jungle when he detected sounds drawing near through the lush woodland.

It dawned on him that he had been encircled, and stood still.

“One person was standing, pointing with an projectile,” he states. “Somehow he detected of my presence and I began to escape.”

He ended up confronting members of the Mashco Piro. Over many years, Tomas—residing in the modest village of Nueva Oceania—was practically a neighbour to these itinerant tribe, who reject engagement with strangers.

A new study by a human rights organization indicates there are a minimum of 196 termed “remote communities” remaining globally. This tribe is believed to be the biggest. It says 50% of these communities could be eliminated in the next decade if governments don't do additional actions to defend them.

It claims the biggest dangers stem from logging, digging or operations for oil. Remote communities are highly at risk to common sickness—as such, the study states a threat is caused by contact with religious missionaries and online personalities seeking engagement.

Lately, members of the tribe have been venturing to Nueva Oceania more and more, according to residents.

The village is a fishing community of several clans, perched elevated on the shores of the Tauhamanu River in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, 10 hours from the closest settlement by boat.

The area is not designated as a preserved zone for uncontacted groups, and timber firms operate here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the racket of logging machinery can be noticed day and night, and the tribe members are observing their woodland damaged and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, residents say they are divided. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold deep respect for their “relatives” dwelling in the woodland and desire to protect them.

“Allow them to live in their own way, we are unable to alter their way of life. That's why we preserve our space,” explains Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the harm to the tribe's survival, the threat of violence and the possibility that loggers might introduce the Mashco Piro to diseases they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the settlement, the Mashco Piro made their presence felt again. Letitia Rodriguez Lopez, a young mother with a young girl, was in the forest gathering food when she heard them.

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

This marked the first time she had met the group and she ran. Subsequently, her thoughts was still pounding from fear.

“Because exist deforestation crews and companies clearing the jungle they are fleeing, maybe due to terror and they come in proximity to us,” she said. “We don't know how they might react towards us. That's what scares me.”

Recently, two loggers were attacked by the group while fishing. One was struck by an bow to the stomach. He recovered, but the second individual was located lifeless after several days with nine arrow wounds in his frame.

Authorities in Peru has a policy of avoiding interaction with secluded communities, making it prohibited to commence interactions with them.

This approach originated in the neighboring country following many years of campaigning by indigenous rights groups, who noted that early interaction with remote tribes lead to entire groups being eliminated by disease, hardship and hunger.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in Peru made initial contact with the world outside, half of their population perished within a matter of years. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua community experienced the same fate.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are extremely vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any contact may spread diseases, and even the basic infections may wipe them out,” says an advocate from a tribal support group. “From a societal perspective, any contact or disruption can be very harmful to their life and survival as a society.”

For those living nearby of {