The 26-year-old missionary kept a diary in which he described in detail what was happening to him
As reported by "Russkaya Germaniya", 26-year-old John Allen Chau had long dreamed of getting to North Sentinel Island, one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal belonging to India, where a tribe of natives lives, whose history dates back 30 thousand years. On the island with an area of approximately 50 square kilometers, more than 50 Sentinelese live (the exact number is unknown, figures from 50 to 400 are given), who do not maintain contact with the outside world. Their way of life is believed to correspond to the Stone Age.
In the 1960s, anthropologists visited North Sentinel: under the protection of an armed convoy, they first managed to present gifts to the tribe, and then even made a number of visits for field research. These attempts were abandoned about a quarter of a century ago. Anthropologists believe that the first people appeared on the Andamans two thousand years ago, and genetic studies have shown that the four tribes of local aborigines are at least 30 thousand years old.
The Sentinelese are considered the most uncontacted of all four, resisting visits by strangers with weapons in hand. In 2006, the aborigines killed two Indian fishermen whose boat was accidentally washed ashore on the island. The Sentinelese rained a hail of arrows on the helicopter that arrived to retrieve the fishermen's bodies.
The American missionary Chau hired the same local fishermen to help him get to North Sentinel Island. According to his family, John Allen Chau devoted his entire life to God, helping people, and traveling: the young man's goal was to bring the teachings of Christ to the natives. Chau had visited the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago before and spoke of his desire to visit the Sentinelese and convert them to Christianity.
North Sentinel Island and the surrounding waters are a protected area and closed to visitors. Indian authorities do not want to interfere with the traditional way of life of the aborigines – no one is allowed to approach the island closer than 5 kilometers.
Chau paid the fishermen 25 thousand rupees (over 300 euros) to take him closer to the island. Agreeing, the fishermen warned of the danger, but the missionary did not listen and approached North Sentinel Island "under the guise of fishing," and the next morning he reached the shore alone in a kayak. In the surviving diary, Chau said that he brought scissors, safety pins, and a soccer ball as gifts for the aborigines.
Some of the aborigines were friendly to the guest, others were aggressive and shot a blunt arrow at him: according to the diary, it was stopped by the Bible. Chau returned to the fishermen, left the diary, and the next day went to the island again. His notes say about the natives: "I was so kind to them. Why are they so angry and aggressive? Do not blame them if I am killed."
Another day later, the fishermen observed the aborigines dragging a body along the beach and burying it in the sand. Presumably, the American was killed: most likely, warriors of the isolated tribe shot the uninvited guest with bows, who arrived on the remote island to preach Christianity.
Indian authorities have not yet been able to retrieve John Chau's remains from the island and confirm the cause of death. A police boat approached within 400 meters of the shore, but the locals began to threaten with bows and arrows – to avoid escalating the situation, the police left.
A murder case has been opened against "an unidentified native." Seven people have been arrested for aiding – for helping John Chau reach the island. The missionary's grieving family asks for the release of all detainees and does not blame the aborigines: "John had nothing but the warmest feelings for the Sentinelese. We forgive everyone who is supposedly responsible for his death," the relatives said of their loss.
The total population of all four native tribes inhabiting the Sentinel Islands is estimated to be about 700 people. According to early estimates from colonial times, when the British set foot on the islands in the 1850s, about five thousand people lived there. The aborigines hunt wild animals, gather fruits, honey, and insects. Representatives of organizations advocating for the rights of natives believe that John Chau acted very recklessly: with his ill-considered attempts to reach the Sentinelese, he endangered both his own life and the lives of the aborigines – he could have brought diseases to the island that would wipe out the entire tribe.