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A man named Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a modest glade far in the of Peru Amazon when he noticed footsteps approaching through the thick jungle.

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

“One was standing, aiming using an bow and arrow,” he states. “And somehow he became aware that I was present and I began to escape.”

He found himself face to face members of the Mashco Piro. For decades, Tomas—who lives in the modest village of Nueva Oceania—served as virtually a local to these itinerant people, who shun engagement with strangers.

A new report from a rights group states there are at least 196 described as “uncontacted groups” remaining in the world. The Mashco Piro is considered to be the largest. The report states half of these communities might be eliminated over the coming ten years should administrations don't do more measures to safeguard them.

It claims the biggest risks stem from logging, mining or operations for crude. Isolated tribes are extremely at risk to common sickness—therefore, the report notes a danger is caused by interaction with proselytizers and social media influencers looking for engagement.

Lately, the Mashco Piro have been venturing to Nueva Oceania more and more, as reported by residents.

The village is a fishermen's hamlet of several families, located high on the shores of the Tauhamanu waterway in the heart of the of Peru jungle, 10 hours from the most accessible village by boat.

This region is not classified as a protected area for remote communities, and logging companies operate here.

Tomas says that, on occasion, the sound of logging machinery can be heard continuously, and the tribe members are seeing their jungle disturbed and devastated.

In Nueva Oceania, people state they are divided. They dread the projectiles but they also have strong regard for their “relatives” who live in the forest and want to defend them.

“Allow them to live as they live, we can't alter their way of life. That's why we keep our separation,” states Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the destruction to the tribe's survival, the risk of conflict and the likelihood that deforestation crews might expose the community to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the community, the tribe appeared again. Letitia, a young mother with a two-year-old daughter, was in the jungle collecting fruit when she detected them.

“There were cries, cries from individuals, a large number of them. Like there was a whole group yelling,” she shared with us.

That was the first time she had encountered the group and she escaped. An hour later, her thoughts was continually racing from fear.

“Because there are deforestation crews and operations destroying the woodland they're running away, maybe because of dread and they end up close to us,” she explained. “We don't know how they will behave to us. That is the thing that frightens me.”

Recently, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the tribe while angling. One man was hit by an arrow to the abdomen. He survived, but the second individual was discovered lifeless subsequently with multiple puncture marks in his frame.

Authorities in Peru has a approach of no engagement with isolated people, establishing it as illegal to initiate encounters with them.

The policy was first adopted in a nearby nation subsequent to prolonged of advocacy by tribal advocacy organizations, who noted that first exposure with isolated people resulted to whole populations being wiped out by sickness, destitution and hunger.

Back in the eighties, when the Nahau people in the country made initial contact with the broader society, half of their community perished within a few years. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua people faced the similar destiny.

“Secluded communities are very at risk—epidemiologically, any exposure could spread sicknesses, and even the simplest ones may decimate them,” states Issrail Aquisse from a local advocacy organization. “From a societal perspective, any exposure or intrusion could be very harmful to their existence and well-being as a community.”

For local residents of {