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Showing posts from November 25, 2018

U.S. citizen trespassed into Sentinelese tribe's Island, killed

Port Blair, Nov 21: "On 19.11.2018, an email was received from US Consulate General, Chennai wherein it was informed that they had received a communication from the mother of Mr. John Chau about her son's visit to North Sentinel Island where he was purportedly attacked. Acting on the information, A&N Police has registered a case vide Cr.No.91/18 dated 20.11.2018 u/s 302/34 IPC at PS Humfrigunj. Further another case at PS Humfrigunj has been registered vide Cr. No. 92/18 dated 20.11.2018 u/s 282/336/304/34 IPC read with sec 7/8 PAT, 1956 in which seven accused persons have been arrested. The investigation in this matter is on", a press release of SP (CID) said. Sources said, an American citizen-cum-preacher, Mr. John Allen Chau who came here as a tourist in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands has reportedly trespassed into North Sentinel Island on Nov. 16, 2018, where he was attacked by bows and arrows, and was later killed by the tribal members of Sentinelese Commun

Who are the Sentinelese?

Who are they? The Sentinelese, a negrito tribe who live on the North Sentinel Island of the Andamans, have not faced incursions and remain hostile to outsiders. The inhabitants are connected to the Jarawa on the basis of physical, as well as linguistic similarities, researchers say. Based on carbon dating of kitchen middens by the Anthropological Survey of India, Sentinelese presence was confirmed in the islands to 2,000 years ago. Genome studies indicate that the Andaman tribes could have been on the islands even 30,000 years ago. How are they protected? The Govt. of India issued the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 to declare the traditional areas occupied by the tribes as reserves, and prohibited entry of all persons except those with authorisation. Photographing or filming the tribe members is also an offence. The rules were amended later to enhance penalties. But restricted area permits were relaxed for some islands recently.

Social Work-Force in A&N Islands

The entire Andaman and Nicobar Islands population has already seen the significant role(s) played by Social Workers and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) during post-Tsunami operations.  More than hundreds of NGOs from various part of world have visited here and established their camp office for community work for the affected population of ANI.  We all know that the problems of the individuals who stay in temporary and short stay homes are diverse in nature.  For the migrant and disaster affected, the needs of providing immediate basic  needs,  counseling to recover from the trauma and shock caused due to the tragedy, provision of legal aid, initiation of rehabilitation efforts and linking up with government agencies and other NGOs is important.  Many NGOs in India provide community services.  Some of them specialize in a single activity e.g. health, education while others provide multiple services.  Most of them have Social Workers working for them. They identify the felt