An American missionary who was on a quest to meet and convert people from one of the most isolated hunter-gatherer tribes in the world was reportedly killed. John Allen Chau, 26, of Vancouver, Washington was killed by members of the Sentinelese tribe who reside in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
According to local media reports, Chau was killed by members of the Sentinelese tribe. As soon as he set foot on the island, Chau found himself facing a flurry of arrows. In a statement issued by Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman it said that, they received a mail from US consulate general in Chennai, informing the Indian authorities about the communication the consulate had received from Chau’s mother.
“Mother of Mr John Chau informed that her son was purportedly attacked during his visit to North Sentinel Island here. Acting on the information, Andaman and Nicobar Police has registered a case of murder at Humfrigunj police station and arrested seven fishermen.”
Reacting to this a US based fundamentalist Christian group has sought murder charges against the ones responsible for the death of Chau. They have demanded for an FIR to be filed against the Sentinelese tribe for Chau’s death.
The demand is completely absurd since the tribe is considered to be an endangered one and their privacy have been guaranteed by the Indian Government.
A Hindustan Times report titled ‘Isolated tribe kills American tourist on remote island in Andaman Sea. But who are Sentinelese? Let’s take a closer look. The Sentinelese is a tribal society of hunter-gatherer that hunts and gathers in the forest, and fish in the coastal waters. They also collect wild plants. It is said that the tribe does not practice cannibalism. They fiercely reject all contact with the outside world that is not known to them. North Sentinel Island is about 50-km (31 miles) west of Port Blair, the capital of the island cluster.
It was in 2004, during the Indian Ocean tsunami that the tribe attracted international attention when a member of the tribe was photographed on the beach, shooting arrows at the Indian Coast Guard helicopter that was flying around to check on their welfare. The Sentinelese have a record of being hostile to anyone who tries to get close to them.
The Sentinelese are considered as sovereign people by the Indian government. Indian authorities make periodic checks on the tribe from boats anchored at a safe distance from shore. The fact that the risks involved in the visit to the island are in public knowledge, making attempts to meet them was nothing but complete foolishness on Chau’s part.
The prime intention of John Chau was to convert people of these tribe into Christianity as was found in his journal that Chau’s mother shared with The Washington Post wherein he had written, “I hollered, ‘My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you.’ “You guys might think I’m crazy in all this but I think it’s worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people,” he wrote in a last note to his family on November 16th.
Chau had paid Rs. 25,000 to seven fishermen for sneaking him to the island. All the fishermen who ferried Chua to the prohibited island are now arrested. Police officials further said that, on November 14th Chau hired a boat and after bribing the fishermen to take him to the island waited until darkness to set off so that he couldn’t be detected by the authorities.
Talking to CNN, Dependra Pathak, Director General of Police of the Andaman & Nicobar islands said, “According to the fishermen, they used a wooden boat fitted with motors to travel to the island on November 15.”
“The boat stopped 500-700 meters (1,640 – 2,300 feet) away from the island and (the American missionary) used a canoe to reach the shore of the island. He came back later that day with arrow injuries. On the 16th, the (tribe’s people) broke his canoe. “So he came back to the boat swimming. He did not come back on the 17th; the fishermen later saw the tribe’s people dragging his body around.”
All in all it can be said that it wasn’t fate but Chau himself who was responsible for his death. The most saddening part about the whole incident is that he knew about the consequences well in advance but he was adamant to go and in his own words “declare Jesus to these people”. His intentions to convert the inhabitants of the island backfired at him and hence led to his tragic death.