Re: [asa] uncontacted peoples ???!!!

Hi Asaers This is a topic of my interest; I was born and live in Peru, a country that has uncontacted people. I use to work from time to time as a free-lance ornithologist in environmental impact assesments in areas where it would be possible that uncontacted people have been living. Our legislation is supposed to protect them, and has stablished reservations where they are known to live. It is forbidden for anybody to go and look for them (even for anthropologists and missionaries). But when I talked to an old missionary friend, he told me that they should be reached by the gospel and set free from their idolatry. So he ignores this law (it is difficult to make accomplish it in the midle of an unexplored rainforest, I do not think that the police would arrest him). Something interesting is that in an article in the main journal of Peru (see this url if you read spanish  http://www.elcomercio.com.pe/edicionimpresa/Html/2007-10-28/el_sindrome_del_perro_del_hort.html%c2 ) published last year; our Peruvian president do not believe in the existence of these people; attacking environmentalists as oponents to the economic development. It has been a big surprise to us how "green" he is now after the international pressure and the last euro-latinamerican meeting in Lima. I use to talk to social scientists (all of them non-christians) on this topic, told me that they are ok without western civilization, and heavily critizies the approach of missionaries such as my friend. I do agree that our approach to them (if there is an opportunity to do it) should be a humble one. And the reason for their voluntary isolation could be the terrible experiences in the past (such as the rubber fever in the amazon, who destroyed amazon societies at the beggining of the last century). Several native communities has a modern myth: The white men are "pishtacos" , they come and kidnap them to take out the fat of their bodies so they can use them in their machines such as airplanes. Maybe this is a remembrance of the time when they were really kidnapped by the slave traders in the rubber fever. As Christians, we have to see goodness and God´s image in them. They could survive in  hostile  conditions. I do not know about their own problems (maybe they still fight against each others such as in Mel Gibson´s movie Apocalypto) And the gospel should not destroy good topics of their culture such as their respect for the land. Several missionaries in their zeal to take out all signs of idolatry has told them that neither the forest nor the animals are worthy; so they now sell their lands, participate in deforestation and species extintion. Today I was invited to talk about Christians and the environment in a class of the Latin American Theological Faculty of the C&MA (www.fatela.org). Some of the students work as missionaries in native commutinies of the Amazon. They told me about their problems, ignored by the government, their lands given to oil companies without their consentment. I told them in my opinion that Christian leaders should be facilitators, people that help them in instructing them about their rights and letting them know alternatives to pollution and deforestation. It is a matter of personal conviction to decide how much you can get involved, without damaging your personal testimony.  A final though, these uncontacted people would be contacted sometime. I would prefer that they could be contact by missionaries that approach them in a humble way without destroying their culture than be contacted by drugdealers, oil company workers or illegal forest cutters. God bless you all   Dios les bendiga    Oscar Gonzalez A Rocha Peru Team Leader www.arocha.org Gomez del Carpio 135 Barrio Medico, Lima 34, Peru E-mail: ecoteologo@yahoo.com http://myprofile.cos.com/pajarologo http://murodepiedraperu.blogspot.com Tel 511-4477215 551-97485199 ----- Mensaje original ---- De: Merv <mrb22667@kansas.net> Para: IW <iaincw@hushmail.com>; asa@calvin.edu Enviado: sábado, 31 de mayo, 2008 13:37:53 Asunto: Re: [asa] uncontacted peoples ???!!! IW wrote: True - although an arrogant assumption since no one knows what those people want for themselves. Merv had written: Why should they need medical treatment from "civilization" if they've survived without it? Survived yes. I have seen the people around here who survive without medication. malaria has a most devestating affect on the brain of those who do not get treated. Giving birth is a seriously risky business. COlds can kill. Survived is the word. They do not prosper. Good points.    Either course of action should be accompanied by humility. --Merv ____________________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Deportes Beta ¡No te pierdas lo último sobre el torneo clausura 2008! Entérate aquí http://deportes.yahoo.com

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Sat May 31 20:29:10 2008