The Most Isolated Man On Earth

The western Brazilian state of Rondonia contains some of the richest agricultural lands in the Amazon, attracting large numbers of ranchers, loggers, and farmers looking to capitalize on the areas resources. It’s also the home of a lone native man, who has been living on the run, in isolation for decades.

He is known by the media as the “Man in the Hole” because of the various holes he digs within his huts and throughout the forest for hunting and hiding. He needs them. He has been on the run from ranchers, loggers, scientists, and government officials since they first discovered the man nearly 15 years ago. He has resisted all attempts at contact, and has even put an arrow in the chest of an agent trying to get close.

While his situation is extreme, the likes of his plight are not uncommon. The Brazilian government has passed various laws attempting to protect the native tribes of the Amazon. Brazil’s 1988 Constitution gave Indians the legal right to the land they have traditionally occupied, and in the case of the ‘Man in the Hole’, it has cordoned off a 31-square-mile area of protection.  These laws however, have created powerful incentive for ranchers, settlers, and loggers to chase such tribes from their native lands, and have effectively put a bounty on the heads of tribes-people. With the Brazilian government unable to patrol or protect the vast Amazon, the native tribes have faced repeated massacres as gunman have moved onto indigenous lands, and it is believed that this was the fate of the rest of the man’s tribe sometime in the 80’s.

None of the local ranchers claim any knowledge of the attacks, but most are outspoken about their disdain for the protection of this man. Ranchers argue that it’s absurd to protect 31 square miles of land for one man when that same land can be used to produce food and products for thousands. But support for the man is spreading across Brazil and throughout the internet, hoping to silence the land-hungry voices.

As Slate Magazine reports, “Some Brazilians believe that the rapid spread of technology itself might protect his solitude, not threaten it. The agents who have worked on the lone Indian’s case since 1996 believe that the wider the story of the man’s isolation spreads—something that’s easier than ever now—the safer he’ll be from the sort of stealthy, anonymous raids by local land-grabbers that have decimated tribes in the past. Technologies like Google Earth and other mapping programs can assist in monitoring the boundaries of his territory. Instead of launching intrusive expeditions into the tribal territories to verify the Indians’ safety, Brazilian officials have announced they will experiment with heat-seeking sensors that can be attached to airplanes flying high enough to cause no disruption on the ground.”  Some local tribes have even started working directly with Google Earth as an attempt to insure the future of their tribes.

It’s a decades-long argument that has been taking place within Brazil, with various interest groups around the world joining the chess game and awaiting the ultimate outcome of the Amazon Rainforest. In today’s modern world there are new players, and new tactics, but it seems the pawns have remained the same.

[Via: Slate, Timesonline]

[Photo Via: Google images]