London [UK], July 19: Survival International (headquartered in the UK) has just released rare images of the Mashco Piro people, an indigenous tribe in the Amazon rainforest in Peru . This tribe lives a closed life, has little contact with the outside world and even shoots arrows at anyone who tries to approach, according to the New York Post .
live apart
The Mashco Piro live between two nature reserves in Peru's Madre de Dios province. In recent years, the tribe has fired arrows at tourist boats and even fired "warning arrows" at rangers in Manu National Park. The violence reached a fever pitch when members of the tribe killed another tribe member, Nicolas Flores, who tried to make contact with them. However, some members of the tribe have come out of the forest to try to trade machetes and food with people in nearby villages .
The latest images were taken in late June in the Las Piedras riverside area of ​​southeastern Peru, in the Madre de Dios region, near the border with Brazil. More than 50 Mashco Piro were seen during the day near the Yine village of Monte Salvado. Another group of 17 were seen in the nearby village of Puerto Nuevo.
Fear of disaster?
The Peruvian indigenous rights group Fenamad says the reclusive tribe has been coming out of the rainforest more frequently in recent weeks to search for food, apparently to avoid the growing presence of loggers . Several companies have logging permits in areas where the Mashco Piro live, some very close to where they have recently emerged, according to Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International. Canales Tahuamanu has even built more than 200km of roads for trucks to transport timber.
The Mashco Piro people live not far from the Yine. The Yine, who speak a similar language but have little contact with the outside world, have said that the Mashco Piro are angry at the presence of loggers. "This is a humanitarian disaster that is happening, and it is vital that the loggers withdraw and that the Mashco Piro territory is protected," said Pearce. Alfredo Vargas Pio, president of the Fenamad organization, is concerned that the loggers could bring disease that could wipe out the indigenous group, not to mention the risk of violence from both sides.
"This is irrefutable evidence that the Mashco Piro live in an area that the government fails to protect and is in fact selling to timber companies," he said. Indigenous advocates are calling on the government to revoke the permits of timber companies, according to Survival International. The Peruvian government said on June 18 that locals had seen the Marshco Piro along the Las Piedras River, but did not comment further.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper