Page 19 - COBH EDITION 15th FEBRUARY DIGITAL VERSION

Take the story of an American tourist who tried to land on a small island off India recently.
North Sentinel Island is part of the Andaman Islands, deep in the Indian Ocean and the Sen-
tinelese tribe, believed to be only 150 in number, doesn’t want to have any contact with the
outside world and is openly hostile to anyone who tries to get too close.
Outsiders are officially banned from going within three miles of the island to protect the way
of life of the natives and to safeguard them from 21st century diseases but there is a sugges-
tion that this particular tourist was a missionary and was trying to make contact with the tribe
to convert them to Christianity.
He ignored instructions from the authorities, and advice from locals, to stay away from the
place. According to police, he had tried to reach Sentinel island previously but failed so this
time he got a boat to bring him in close to the island and went the rest of the way on his own
in a canoe but instead of being met with a holiday brochure and the offer of a tour, he was hit
by a hail of arrows and he was killed.
The warning signs were there because in 2006, two Indian fishermen moored their boat near
the island while they went for a sleep but the little boat broke loose and drifted onto the is-
land. The fishermen were never seen again, and their bodies were never recovered.
The Sentinelese tribe is one of the last groups in the world to be untouched by modern
civilisation and they should be left that way. It’s supremely arrogant for someone to think
they can improve the lives of any tribe by introducing them to religion. The authorities there
respect their privacy and only observe them from a distance. The Indian Coast Guard flew
over the island one time and the tribesmen tried to shoot down the helicopter with bows and
arrows.
Spike Island on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish. You’ll have a great experience and
you won’t be attacked by the natives.