MAN ARRESTED FOR SAILING TO REMOTE ISLAND AND ENDANGERING LOCAL TRIBE
After attempting to contact a remote tribe on an Indian island, a US man was taken into custody. Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested by police on Wednesday (April 2) for trying to access a forbidden tribal reserve, according to The Independent. He arrived at Port Blair, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' capital, on March 27, according to police, intending to take a boat to North Sentinel Island in the Bay of Bengal. However, he was taken into custody on Sunday, March 30. One of the world's most remote tribes, the Sentinelese, live on North Sentinel Island.
Traveling to North Sentinel Island was banned by the Indian government in 1956, with the island being labelled a tribal reserve from that year onwards.Even though the Sentinelese have made it apparent that they do not wish to interact with modern people, some have tried. One prominent example is the American missionary John Allen Chau, who was killed on the island in 2018 while attempting to convert the tribe to Christianity. Polyakov said police when he was caught in India that he left Khurmadera Beach, which is roughly 19 miles from the capital, at 1am on March 29 and arrived to the northeastern beach of North Sentinel island at around 10am, according to The Times. From the boat, he used binoculars to observe the shore, hoping to spot any members of the tribe.
He waded down to the beach, dropped his presents—cans of Diet Coke and coconuts—on the sand, and waited for someone to show up after realizing he wouldn't see anyone. He recorded it, got back on his boat, and sat for an hour while blowing a whistle to attract their attention before heading back to Khurmadera when no one emerged. At that point, he was caught after being reported to the police by nearby fishermen. Since then, Polyakov has been accused of going into a banned area.
She said in a statement (via The Times): “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.”
"We are gathering more data about him and his plan to reach the reserved tribal area," the police told Press Trust of India, referring to Polyakov's third visit to the island after two prior attempts, according to the Independent. Additionally, we are attempting to ascertain what other locations he has visited while in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In addition to their general animosity, the Sentinelese are extremely susceptible to contemporary illnesses since they have never been exposed to them and hence lack the immunity necessary to fend off infections brought by outsiders. Polyakov's attempt was described as "very unsettling" by Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, a foundation that defends fragile tribes.
