World’s Scariest Words: ‘I’m an Environmentalist and I’m Here to Help’
There are many examples of tribes that want to preserve their past ways of life and culture — I visited one on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu in the South Pacific (near Fiji). My take away from that experience was at first the stunned realization that there were really people who live with nearly nothing modern — you could count the total number of metal objects in the village on two hands. They were definitely happy because they lived in a good climate where food literally fell out of the trees. As a consequence of this, they worked about 45 minutes a day, on average. They also had almost no use for money — the chief put any donations into a mattress and it just sat there, he really didn’t know what to do with it.
It sounds idyllic, and in some ways it is. However, even without all the trappings of modern living, they still had human conflict — jealousy, competition, showing off and the whole range of issues that afflict ALL humans. I’m sure this tribe in Vanuatu shares many similarities to the one in Brazil.
I say leave them alone, quit flying over their village and frightening them. If they want to come out an join modern society, we should welcome them with open arms.
In the meantime, let’s show some respect and stop using them for environmental propaganda!
