In the second attack in a month, at least two loggers have been killed in the Peruvian Amazon by a threatened uncontacted tribe using bows and arrows.
The incident occurred near the Pariamanu River in Madre de Dios province on the morning of August 29, but the news has only now been confirmed by FENAMAD, a federation of tribes that live in the region.
The confrontation unfolded when women from the Mashco Piro tribe encountered a group of workers who were clearing the forest for road construction. A conflict unfolded in which two loggers were killed by “arrow impact”, while another was wounded. Two more workers remain missing and unaccounted for.
Survival International, an Indigenous rights organization, argues that the tragic incident starkly highlights the need for the government to formally recognize and protect the entire territory of the Mashco Piro tribe.
“This is a tragedy that was entirely avoidable. The Peruvian authorities have known for years that this area that they chose to sell off for logging was actually the Mashco Piro’s territory,” Caroline Pearce, Survival International’s Director, said in a statement.
“By facilitating the logging and destruction of this rainforest they’re not only endangering the very survival of the Mashco Piro people, who are incredibly vulnerable to epidemics of disease brought in by outsiders, but they’ve knowingly put the lives of the logging workers in danger,” added Pearce.
The Mashco Piro people are a community of nomadic hunter-gatherers who live in the rainforests of southeast Peru. They are likely to be one of the largest uncontacted tribes in the world with an estimated 750 members.
The reclusive tribe has good reason to be dubious of outsiders. In the late 19th century, the tribe endured huge suffering at the hands of colonial rubber barons in the western Amazon. Thousands were enslaved, while countless others were hunted down, beaten, chained, robbed, raped, and murdered.
Now, they face a new threat: logging and deforestation. The latest attack follows another incident on July 27 in which the uncontacted tribe attacked loggers using bows and arrows in a contested part of the region. Just weeks before the conflict, Survival released photographs showing how members of the Mashco Piro tribe were living “dangerously close” to parts of the forest being eyed up by logging companies.
Since two attacks have now occurred within a matter of weeks of each other, there are fresh calls for the government to take action before more tragedies strike.
“The government must act now: it must cancel the logging concessions and recognize and protect the whole Mashco Piro territory. If it doesn’t, further tragedies are inevitable,” said Pearce.
