Brothers within the Woodland: This Fight to Defend an Isolated Amazon Community

A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a modest glade far in the of Peru rainforest when he heard footsteps drawing near through the thick woodland.

He became aware that he stood surrounded, and froze.

“A single individual was standing, directing using an projectile,” he remembers. “And somehow he became aware of my presence and I began to flee.”

He found himself confronting members of the Mashco Piro. For a long time, Tomas—dwelling in the tiny community of Nueva Oceania—was practically a neighbour to these nomadic individuals, who shun interaction with outsiders.

A new document issued by a human rights organisation claims there are a minimum of 196 described as “remote communities” remaining in the world. This tribe is thought to be the most numerous. The report says half of these tribes might be decimated in the next decade if governments don't do more actions to defend them.

It argues the biggest threats stem from timber harvesting, digging or drilling for oil. Remote communities are highly at risk to basic illness—consequently, it says a threat is caused by contact with proselytizers and digital content creators looking for engagement.

In recent times, members of the tribe have been coming to Nueva Oceania increasingly, according to locals.

Nueva Oceania is a fishermen's hamlet of a handful of families, located atop on the shores of the Tauhamanu waterway in the heart of the Peruvian rainforest, 10 hours from the most accessible settlement by boat.

The territory is not designated as a safeguarded zone for remote communities, and deforestation operations work here.

Tomas reports that, at times, the noise of heavy equipment can be noticed around the clock, and the community are seeing their woodland damaged and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, inhabitants report they are conflicted. They dread the projectiles but they hold profound respect for their “brothers” residing in the jungle and want to protect them.

“Allow them to live as they live, we can't alter their traditions. That's why we keep our separation,” says Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are worried about the destruction to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the danger of violence and the chance that deforestation crews might subject the Mashco Piro to sicknesses they have no immunity to.

At the time in the village, the group made their presence felt again. Letitia, a woman with a two-year-old daughter, was in the jungle collecting produce when she detected them.

“We detected shouting, cries from others, many of them. As if there was a crowd calling out,” she told us.

This marked the first time she had come across the tribe and she escaped. Subsequently, her mind was persistently throbbing from anxiety.

“Since there are timber workers and firms cutting down the woodland they're running away, perhaps out of fear and they arrive in proximity to us,” she said. “We are uncertain how they might react with us. That is the thing that terrifies me.”

In 2022, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the Mashco Piro while catching fish. One was hit by an arrow to the gut. He recovered, but the other man was discovered dead days later with multiple injuries in his body.

The administration has a policy of non-contact with isolated people, rendering it illegal to commence interactions with them.

The strategy was first adopted in Brazil after decades of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who noted that first interaction with isolated people resulted to whole populations being wiped out by disease, poverty and starvation.

In the 1980s, when the Nahau people in the country came into contact with the world outside, a significant portion of their people perished within a short period. A decade later, the Muruhanua community faced the same fate.

“Isolated indigenous peoples are very at risk—in terms of health, any exposure may spread illnesses, and even the most common illnesses may eliminate them,” explains a representative from a local advocacy organization. “In cultural terms, any contact or interference may be extremely detrimental to their existence and survival as a society.”

For local residents of {