Goodbye

Farewell To "The Perfect Man"
(Human Extinction series)

(Onge Women With Traditional Dress and Face Paint)

At the turn of the century the British were spreading like a plague upon the face of the earth. They brought development at the cost of the native peoples they colonized. Like the barbarians that overran Rome, the British came in waves as they fanned out to the four corners of the planet. This strategy of taking anything that didn't have a European flag planted in it (and at times even then) allowed the Brits to slaughter the indigenous tribes just like the Spaniards in South America. Taking anything they wanted while exploiting the people they claimed to be making civilized.

What had been done to the Americas for two centuries prior was now being done to India and Southeast Asia. The Europeans who had come before them were somehow made to look like saints as the British killed anything that would not fall in line. And when the locals outnumbered the invaders, Britain simply exploited local feuds to pit neighbor against neighbor... after all, it worked in America.

Upon first contact with the British the Onge, "En-iregale" in their own tongue (meaning perfect man), had numbered around 670 people. They were united and had a strong culture built upon centuries of living amongst the Andamanese islands. They were in tune with the cycles of the sea so much so that all 96 Onge members survived the 2004 tsunami by retreating to the highlands. They had a sustainable way of life that included hunting and fishing along with gathering of plants and edible roots.

Today the Onge people have just under 100 surviving members. They are confined to a tiny portion of their native lands in Indian built houses that are at best poorly built and rarely maintained. Disease and social ailments introduced by the British and Indians have left the Onge struggling to survive. Their hunting grounds are often kept off limits to them while poachers encroach upon their tiny scrap of land. The semi-nomadic practices they had once enjoyed as a society are now almost all but gone.

Some of the most humiliating results of their forced settlement (during the 1970's) has been the denial of their rights to hunt upon their own lands by the Indian government. Culturally it has always been traditional that an Onge man has not been allowed to marry until he has killed a wild boar. Now, with the persistent problem of poachers, the Onge men face humiliation or the need to break Indian imposed laws to culturally be accepted as a man.

For the women the settlement has meant being unable to provide for their children in the same ways their ancestors had. This has led to several issues including malnutrition amongst the Onge children. When the men are unable to hunt pigs or sea turtles the women are needed to gather food. But this has been increasingly difficult since large parts of the island are off limits to the Onge due to the Indian governments neglect of them.

Food has always been important to people. What we eat not only provides us nourishment but provides a mental link for us to remember people and places we grew up with. In the West we often call this "soul food". For the Onge people this comfort has been deprived to them by the British initially and currently the Indian government. The foods that their ancestors had taught them to survive off, to love, are now difficult for the Onge to obtain. Classic comfort foods for them are quickly becoming a memory.

All of these elements contribute strongly to the possibility of extinction for the Onge people rather plausible. Though the birth rate is often cited as improving amongst the Onge people the fact is that it is miserably low (drastically when compared to the rest of India). Then when coupled with an extremely unacceptably high infant mortality rate, the Onge people's hopes for survival are placed in doubt. This is only further exacerbated by the gender ratio is horrifically imbalanced (in 2006 there were 12 boys under 5 years old verses only six girls).

So now that over 100 years has passed since the Onge first met the rest of the world we are facing a point where we might just have to say farewell to "the perfect man". It is a sad reality that the world has allowed a people, of which we know so little about, to vanish from the face of the planet without a single tear, a word of remorse, or a goodbye.

In 2012 the world's citizens donated just over 90 million to World Wildlife Fund to help save animals from extinction. From their own pockets, these caring individuals sacrificed a small portion of their money to a cause that they cared deeply about (or at least enough to donate towards). Some may have been donating to the cause of saving polar bears, or pandas, or even the black rhinoceros. Others may have simply donated to help save animals in general. But what would they have donated had they been donating to UNICEF or other organization helping to save the Onge people from extinction?

Are human lives not worth more than that of a bear or elephant?

There are around 25,000 Asian Elephants alive in the world today.
There are around 4,850 Black Rhinoceroses alive in the world today
There are around 2,500 Bengal Tigers alive in the world today.
There are around 1,600 Giant Pandas alive in the world today.

Yet there are less than 100 Onge people still clinging to existence.

It shouldn't be difficult for people to realize that something in this comparison doesn't add up. We aren't comparing these people to animals in any way other than how the outside world views them. They were exploited for a century and kept out of sight when the world found it indecent to abuse them any further. All the while the Indian government has taken from them everything it has wanted while pushing them further towards oblivion with each passing year.

The main reason for this comparison is that of our own guilt in allowing the Onge people to perish. While we worry about tigers (allotted 15,818 sq miles of reserves in India) the Onge people are confined to 1/3 of their native lands. While we worry about the extinction of elephants in Asia the Onge people tiptoe toward their own extinction. And all the while we ignore the plight of our fellow man.



During January of 2012 we watched as the last Bo tribal member died. His final gift to the world was a sad and lonely song. In his words he spoke of watch the last great tree fall with a deafening crashing sound. One can only imagine that he was that tree and his voice was that final scream to a world too deaf to hear his peoples' pleas.

What will we do when the last Onge person passes away before our eyes?

Will we wait to hear yet another sad song?

Or will we scream before that day comes?

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Source Documents
*note not all sources listed

Cultural Survival
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/voices/mariana-budjeryn/survivors-tsunami

Survival International
http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/jarawa

UNESCO
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001876/187690e.pdf

UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org/rosa/media_2588.htm

Indigenous Policy Journal
http://indigenouspolicy.org/index.php/ipj/article/view/43/102

World Wildlife Fund
http://worldwildlife.org/about/financials

Brazil's Battle of Fallen Timbers

Awa Tribe Faces Extinction

(Young Awa boy in front of illegally torched forest. Image property of Peter Frey.)

The Awa people have been described as the world's most endangered ethnic group. For years now they have faced the tribulations of disease and illness that come from initial contact with the outside world. This has been compounded by the illegal logging and torching of their forest in Brazil's portion of the Amazon. When they dare to stand their ground the reality of fighting guns and fire with bows and spears always pits the Awa against annihilation. A simple bow and arrow after all is no match for the modern firearms that the illegal loggers use to push Awa deeper into the forest.

History has shown the Americas how this initial contact drama has played out in the past. When the Europeans came to the Americas the "virgin soil" epidemics spread a weapon far more fatal than their bullets could every be. Diseases, such as small pox, were utilized by Spanish, English, and French explorers who sought out gold, soil, and fame. These epidemics drastically culled the tribes as the white conquers continued to push westward. At times the biological warfare was all the Europeans needed to decimate given tribes.

In the case of the Awa this phenomenon associated with initial contact cannot be documented for sure. We do not know how many Awa are still left uncontacted by the outside world. Therefore we cannot determine just how many will perish as loggers, trains, and oil corporations push their way into the rainforest. Yet if we look at the long and tragic history of tribal extinction in both North and South America we can see that the few who will survive will be a minute percent of how many Awa currently remain alive.

Since the start of massive waves of illegal logging on Awa land the indigenous people have lost at least 30 percent of their forests. The loss of this timber contributes to reported hunger and starvation amongst Awa peoples. Without the cover of the forest the Awa people, who are nomadic and survive upon hunting and gathering, cannot find the game animals they traditionally hunt. If the animals the Awa need to survive are continually killed in massive amounts by outsiders (poachers and loggers alike) the Awa will suffer increased hunger. And with hunger comes desperation that could lead to more Awa being forced into contact with the outside world.

For native peoples in North America hunger was used as a weapon to keep the population of the tribes on the Great Plains under control. Herds of buffalo were slaughtered intentionally as the government and private enterprise offered incentive by buying the hides at inflated prices. Railroads were then pushed out across the plains and as a result the buffalo were killed off at an ever increasing rate. This led to starvation and the displacement of countless tribes. Those who could no longer find food were offered by the United States cultural extinction through the reservation process.

In Brazil the Awa are given limited legal protection. Their right to live in their homeland free and unexploited is left in the hands of a government that has struggled to muster the needed force to protect the Awa. Instead of offering reservations the Brazilian government has decided to attempt to isolate the Awa and keep their land free of invading settlers and outside companies. This however has been a failed policy.

Hunger and disease have been spread rapidly among the Awa people. With the Vale railway company pushing to double it's railway tracks through Awa territory the threat of both hunger and disease increases. Campaigns to protest and block the company from expanding their destructive exploitation of Awa lands have seen no real gains as the Brazilian government looks the other way.

In July of 2013 the Brazilian government did however deploy troops to the Awa lands where they were ordered to defend the rainforest at all cost. They were given permission to arrest loggers, illegal settlers, and poachers without restraint. Yet the campaign showed little effect as Awa were once again put in a position where likely contact with the outside world was drastically increased. The trade off in this push by Brazil was that logging camps, unlawful ranches, and poachers were temporarily pushed out while Awa were exposed to tanks, helicopters, and state troops.

So what is the threat of contact exactly? 

With contact comes the loss of cultural identities that many in the outside world find almost valueless. Like tribes around the world, the Awa stand to lose their traditional way of life, their language, and their social structure. The push with contacted tribes has always been one of forced assimilation and the cultural genocide of native ways of life. This has been evident in contacted native populations across the Amazon. Brazil being no exception to this tragic reality.

Contact with the outside world has also proven to be often more fatal than the world community first admits. From the 1980's, when Brazil first allowed the railway and mine constructions on Awa land, the workers for outside companies have committed countless massacres against Awa families. These atrocities have been committed in both efforts to push Awa out of their homes and to support other heinous crimes. Awa who are spotted by rail workers and loggers are therefore at risk of being shot on sight.

Cattle ranchers have further shown why Awa people cannot trust outside invaders who show up on their lands. When cattle ranchers burn large portions of land they expose Awa to countless risk. Not only are Awa lives put at risk the animals that Awa both keep and hunt are endangered. Any Awa who are spotted during such activities are ran off or shot by ranchers who view the Awa as obstacles and not humans.

Health, food, and freedom are all put at risk through contact. These are all three things that the Awa cannot get back once they adapt to life amongst the outsiders. The health care system that Brazil has put in place for the Awa would be laughable if it wasn't so tragically flawed. The food that Awa have enjoyed for generations cannot be supplemented by the outside world. And the freedom to maintain their way of life as the Awa people see fit is immediately lost when they surrender their lands to the state and corporations.

All of this has left the world with one major question... how much is the preservation of a peoples' culture worth?

Lumber, iron ore, and much coveted land are all on the table as corporations and private enterprise wring their hands while looking at the Awa people's forests. The greed of the developed world cannot be ignored as the world community watches the extinction of a native people. Though we have watched it happen time and time again, we must now ask ourselves if any of these things are worth the value of this priceless treasure... the Awa people and their culture.

If we do nothing to stop the exploitation of the Awa we will watch as a portion of humanity's diversity is driven into history. Once the Awa are gone they will take everything they know with them. Every aspect of their lives, every aspect of their language, every aspect of their society will be lost for the rest of time.

You can learn more about the Awa by visiting Survival International.

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Source Documents
(Note: not all sources listed)

Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356933/Amazon-images-Pictures-Aw-tribe-work-play.html

Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/brazils-indigeneous-awa-tribe_n_1574374.html

Survival International
http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9376
http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/9365