Bruce Parry wouldn't approve of this...
Saturday, 31 May 2008
News broke yesterday that, in an effort to prove to the rest of the world that they had been telling the truth, the Brazilian Government released pictures of a previously-uncontacted tribe that they'd, well, contacted.
Specifically, they'd flown a plane directly over the tribe's village a couple of times and took pictures - mainly of their various houses and huts, as well as a group of villagers brandishing spears, bows and arrows at the plane. I don't think it's a stretch to say that they had probably never seen a plane, at least one that close.
Personally, I think it's a bit of a shame that the Brazilian folk have done this just so they can massage their own ego - it's as if they've done it for their own willy-waving purposes, rather than anything else. They claim that they needed to prove that the tribe exists to protect their land - but from who?
The only people who, ultimately, are responsible for the land are the Brazilian government. If some corporation wants to wade into the forest and chop it down for burger meat or paper or something then, if the Government knows that the tribe is there, they can protect them. There's no need to release a load of pictures to help the process.
It just seems as if they've done this to show off that:
a) they have at least one plane, and
b) Brazil also has a vaguely competent photographer who can, at least, enable Auto Focus.
Of course, the real losers are the tribe. They've probably been there for thousands of years, and it's a baffling concept that, these days, an uncontacted tribe still exists - apparently there's around 100 left in the world, roughly divided between Brazil and Peru. Expect, there's now one less uncontacted tribe because the Government decided that releasing photographs like this was the best way to protect them. It's just self-centred and, for the tribe, potentially destructive.
Why would they need to prove the tribe's existence anyway? Surely they already knew that they were there -if not, fly a plane over at a far higher altitude and take satellite pictures of their settlement, a lá Google Earth - which has shown that it is doable.
It's just a little bit strange, and it seems like Brazil are just courting the international community - trying to show off their photography, as it were - with little regard for the tribe living in the jungle.
Some of the BBC's coverage also makes me laugh. They've posted a page that attempts to explain what's going on in the pictures, and it's a lesson in pointing out the blindingly obvious.
According to Fiona Watson, an expert on the region in question, the tribe's huts 'often have fires' which are used for 'cooking and heating'.
Really? I would never have guessed.
It goes on to explain that the men, shown brandishing bows and arrows at the camera, are trying to 'drive off' the plane.
Odd. I thought they were waving.
Specifically, they'd flown a plane directly over the tribe's village a couple of times and took pictures - mainly of their various houses and huts, as well as a group of villagers brandishing spears, bows and arrows at the plane. I don't think it's a stretch to say that they had probably never seen a plane, at least one that close.
Personally, I think it's a bit of a shame that the Brazilian folk have done this just so they can massage their own ego - it's as if they've done it for their own willy-waving purposes, rather than anything else. They claim that they needed to prove that the tribe exists to protect their land - but from who?
The only people who, ultimately, are responsible for the land are the Brazilian government. If some corporation wants to wade into the forest and chop it down for burger meat or paper or something then, if the Government knows that the tribe is there, they can protect them. There's no need to release a load of pictures to help the process.
It just seems as if they've done this to show off that:
a) they have at least one plane, and
b) Brazil also has a vaguely competent photographer who can, at least, enable Auto Focus.
Of course, the real losers are the tribe. They've probably been there for thousands of years, and it's a baffling concept that, these days, an uncontacted tribe still exists - apparently there's around 100 left in the world, roughly divided between Brazil and Peru. Expect, there's now one less uncontacted tribe because the Government decided that releasing photographs like this was the best way to protect them. It's just self-centred and, for the tribe, potentially destructive.
Why would they need to prove the tribe's existence anyway? Surely they already knew that they were there -if not, fly a plane over at a far higher altitude and take satellite pictures of their settlement, a lá Google Earth - which has shown that it is doable.
It's just a little bit strange, and it seems like Brazil are just courting the international community - trying to show off their photography, as it were - with little regard for the tribe living in the jungle.
Some of the BBC's coverage also makes me laugh. They've posted a page that attempts to explain what's going on in the pictures, and it's a lesson in pointing out the blindingly obvious.
According to Fiona Watson, an expert on the region in question, the tribe's huts 'often have fires' which are used for 'cooking and heating'.
Really? I would never have guessed.
It goes on to explain that the men, shown brandishing bows and arrows at the camera, are trying to 'drive off' the plane.
Odd. I thought they were waving.
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