In these days of global trade, travel and communication, I think it’s likely that most people would assume that everyone knows about everyone else: that, no matter where you come from, we’re all aware we’re part of a global society, and that the days of people living on remote islands, using bows and arrows, totally unaware of the outside world are long gone. Well, it appears we would be wrong. I just came across this Youtube video, and it made my jaw drop. According to it, the people living on North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean have had very little contact with the outside world. They use iron age technology, and their language has yet to be deciphered. Most attempts to establish contact with them have not gone well as they have reacted with hostility, and the consensus seems to be they should just be left alone.

I’m honestly amazed. I had assumed that such situations were long gone. Of course, there would still be native or indigenous communities living on remote islands, but by now they would all be using mobile phones connected to the internet. That anyone could still be so isolated is incredible. I have only just watched a single Youtube video about it, so I don’t think I ought to comment much further, but I certainly think this warrants looking into more: how, exactly, has this community survived in isolation for all this time? How aware are they of the rest of the world?

The guy narrating the video relates how an American Evangelical Christian once went to the island to try to convert the islanders to Christianity, and was brutally murdered. I must say, the arrogant prick got what was coming to him. That said, North Sentinel Island is so intriguing, perhaps I should try to convince John to take me there next.