"In May 2002, the Indian Supreme Court ordered that road to be closed, settlers removed from the area and all logging banned, but the government has so far been slow to enforce its decree."
Grig said that, "the isolated peoples should not be grouped together with other communities and given rations and other supplies that they might come to depend on. The isolated communities have remained isolated from their own choice – they have made it clear that they wish to remain independent from outsiders and have defended themselves and their land from the settlers." “Therefore, I would imagine that they will continue to resist outside help, even if it’s offered.”
Outsiders are forbidden from interacting with the tribesmen because such contact has led in the past to alcoholism and disease among the islanders and sexual abuse of local women.
The Indian government turned down offers of international aid for the islands on Monday, saying it had “enough assets at its disposal.”
and:
"Reports from overflights of Sentinel Island, which is home to the most isolated of all the tribes, indicate that the inhabitants survived the waves, greeting a helicopter that flew over the island, which is impossible to reach by sea, with arrows and rocks. SI, however, reported that it could not be fully confident of the fate of the Sentinelese because so little is known about them.”
Read more about this little known and almost extinct group of the tsunami-afflicted region here and here. Read about the work that goes on at Survival International here.
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