[Image: Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov / YouTube]
In the latest episode of “What Could Possibly Go Wrong?”, a wannabe YouTube star and self-proclaimed “danger tourist” got himself arrested in India after allegedly trying to cozy up to one of the most notoriously reclusive tribes on Earth.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov clearly thought he was the main character when he set sail for North Sentinel Island, home to about 100 people who’ve made it pretty damn clear they’re not looking for new friends, least alone vloggers.
The 24-year-old, whose travel itinerary reads like a dare gone wrong, was picked up by Indian authorities on March 29 after his overnight escapade, PopSci noted. His “meticulously planned” adventure featured multiple recon missions and a 23-mile ocean crossing in a jerry-rigged inflatable raft, complete with an outboard motor. Because nothing says “respect for protected cultures” like bobbing across shark-infested waters in your DIY yacht.
Once there, our fearless content creator apparently floated offshore for an hour, blowing a whistle like he was summoning a beach volleyball game. When no one RSVP’d, he made landfall for a whopping five minutes to film with his GoPro, scoop up some sand for the ‘Gram, and drop off a coconut and a Coke like he was on some colonial holiday package.
Shockingly, the Sentinelese didn’t pop out to say howzit, probably a lucky break, considering they’ve greeted previous intruders fatality without hesitation.
Globally, around 100–200 uncontacted tribes are still out there, doing their own thing without TikTok tutorials. But none are quite as infamous – or as fiercely protected – as the Sentinelese. Thought to number around 100 and split into three main groups, they’ve lived on their Manhattan-sized island, about 740 miles off India’s coast, for upwards of 55,000 years. Long enough, you’d think, to earn the right not to have surprise visitors with action cameras.
Now sure, stories of their “hostility” can sometimes sound like tabloid fodder, but there’s very real science behind the radio silence. Isolated tribes aren’t just dodging Wi-Fi; they’re dodging death by disease. One good sneeze from an outsider could start a pandemic for them.
“It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out,” Caroline Pearce, director of the nonprofit advocacy group Survival International, said in a statement.
And that’s why, when contact does happen, it’s done carefully, respectfully, and, most importantly, by experts. Earlier this year, when a member of an uncontacted Amazonian tribe turned up in a Brazilian village, local authorities didn’t whip out their phones, they got trained personnel to escort him to medical care.
Pearce let rip on Wednesday: “It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic. This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.”
But wait, there’s more: beyond rogue adventurers, uncontacted tribes are also fending off governments and corporations drooling over their land. Pearce applauded Indian officials for stopping Polyakov, but she didn’t let the country off the hook.
“The uncontacted Shompen of Great Nicobar Island, not far from North Sentinel, will be wiped out if India goes ahead with its plan to transform their island into ‘the Hong Kong of India,’” she warned, calling out the government’s flashy plan to build an airport, port, and power plant in the middle of Indigenous territory.
“The common factor in all these cases is governments’ refusal to abide by international law and recognize and protect uncontacted peoples’ territories.”
As for Polyakov – whose recent YouTube uploads apparently include footage from Taliban-held Afghanistan – his “look how edgy I am” tour might just earn him a 3–5 year reality check in an Indian prison.
Because yeah, it turns out filming and approaching isolated tribes isn’t just a bad idea; it’s illegal. Who would’ve guessed?
[Source: PopularScience]
