WEBVTT - Short Stuff: North Sentinel Island

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. Josh here, Chuck here,

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<v Speaker 1>that's it, and this is short stuff.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>I kept thinking we had covered this, but I don't

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<v Speaker 3>think we covered it this specifically. And what made me

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<v Speaker 3>think of this was the other day I saw a

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<v Speaker 3>video that was a drone flying over North Sentinel Island. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>and these you know, this uncontacted tribe looking up obviously,

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<v Speaker 3>and they were pretty high up. They weren't buzzing them,

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<v Speaker 3>I will say that. But I was also like, and

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<v Speaker 3>I was heartened to find the Instagram comments were mainly

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<v Speaker 3>like please leave them alone largely, but North Sentinel Island

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<v Speaker 3>is part of a larger island chain called the Andaman

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<v Speaker 3>and Nicobar Islands and the Bay of Bengal, about seven

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<v Speaker 3>hundred miles off of India. And it is noteworthy because

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<v Speaker 3>anywhere between fifty and five hundred of these Sentinel Theese

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<v Speaker 3>people live there completely uncontacted, even though they're like maybe

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<v Speaker 3>twenty miles away from islands that are have incorporated some

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<v Speaker 3>modern spoils.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and they live essentially in the same manner as

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<v Speaker 1>Neolithic cunter gatherers. Don't wear clothes, They walk around naked

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<v Speaker 1>as the day they were born, They spearfish, they use

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<v Speaker 1>dugout canoes that aren't particularly seaworthy, and they don't like

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<v Speaker 1>visitors at all. Essentially, there's been one one event of

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<v Speaker 1>contact with them that you could even remotely consider peaceful.

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<v Speaker 1>I guess it would definitely be a piece. Yeah, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>But every other contact with them has either been repelled

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<v Speaker 1>by a volley of arrows or has resulted in the

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<v Speaker 1>person's death, I should say, and or resulted in the

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<v Speaker 1>person's death from that volley of arrows. And that's why,

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<v Speaker 1>like those Instagram comments were saying, like, leave these people alone.

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<v Speaker 1>They've clearly told the modern world leave us alone.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. In other words, these people are your heroes.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, kind of like the naked part especially. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>I really think a lot of these folks. I got

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<v Speaker 2>to get me a bow and arrow.

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<v Speaker 3>In the eighteenth century is when they were first discovered

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<v Speaker 3>with Dutch, Austrian and British merchant ships looking for better

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<v Speaker 3>trade routes, and the first European settlers arrived there in

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<v Speaker 3>the eighteen fifties, when Britain built a penal colony on

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<v Speaker 3>an island about thirty miles from North Sentinel Island and

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<v Speaker 3>kind of not too long after that, I guess it

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<v Speaker 3>was about forty years or so, there was a prisoner

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<v Speaker 3>who tried to escape on a raft from that penal

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<v Speaker 3>colony washed up on shore of North Sentinel and they

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<v Speaker 3>found him dead by arrow or arrows rather.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, And that confirmed those sightings from the seventeen seventies

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<v Speaker 1>that there were definitely people living on this island. You don't, like,

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<v Speaker 1>there's no natural arrows that you can fall on top of.

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<v Speaker 1>That's just how it goes. I'm sorry, I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>the roard.

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<v Speaker 2>Everyone knows that you don't fall on an arrow.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, but even still, if you do fall on an arrow,

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<v Speaker 1>somebody made that arrow. So it definitely suggested human in

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<v Speaker 1>human habitation of the island. And it also showed, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they probably don't want people showing up even accidentally like

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<v Speaker 1>that prisoner did.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah for sure.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, he was like I got out of there, I

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<v Speaker 3>washed up on this island, so amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, ooh, that's a really good arrow sound.

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<v Speaker 2>Message for you, sir.

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<v Speaker 3>In nineteen sixty seven, the Anthropological Survey of India sent

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<v Speaker 3>a team of twenty people to try and make peaceful

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<v Speaker 3>contact with them. And you know, they were well known

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<v Speaker 3>at this point for like any ship that comes by,

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<v Speaker 3>they're going to get arrowed at at least as a warning,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, probably not killing anyone from the shore to

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<v Speaker 3>a ship, but that message again saying please don't come here.

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<v Speaker 2>And they went ashore, and.

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<v Speaker 3>They basically had gone into hiding. They saw their huts,

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<v Speaker 3>they saw that they had fires going, and abandoned their meals.

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<v Speaker 3>I am quite sure that they were, you know, the

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<v Speaker 3>sentinel knees were sitting there watching them from wherever they

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<v Speaker 3>had perched.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure, kind of.

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<v Speaker 3>Going through their stuff, and so they left them some gifts.

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<v Speaker 3>They left them coconuts because they didn't have coconuts. They

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<v Speaker 3>left them iron rods and.

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<v Speaker 2>Sporks.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, plastic utensils, which is so bizarre.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I didn't get that part.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like, hey, why don't you learn how to litter?

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<v Speaker 1>That'll make you modern?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, like, is this the best thing we can offer

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<v Speaker 3>you that you haven't seen yet.

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<v Speaker 1>You mentioned that they had fires going. I read somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>that they are thought to not actually know how to

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<v Speaker 1>make fire, and that they keep embers tended from lightning

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<v Speaker 1>strikes or fires created naturally from lightning strikes.

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<v Speaker 2>Quest for fire, remember that one.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that was a good one. Should we take a break, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and let's go watch Quests for Fire, right, be right back.

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<v Speaker 2>Right on Chong.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and uh, what was the guy's name?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh?

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<v Speaker 1>Uhh, yeah, the guy Sonny Bono.

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<v Speaker 2>Wasn't it a question fire?

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<v Speaker 1>What's his face?

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<v Speaker 3>Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>The hell boy?

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<v Speaker 2>Hell boy?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>Ron, No, oh, I can't think people are screaming at

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<v Speaker 3>us right now.

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<v Speaker 2>He's a feisty guy.

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<v Speaker 1>In real life.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>He was great in Drive. You remember that movie?

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<v Speaker 3>Uh?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I love Drive, great movie. I think I've told

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<v Speaker 1>you before. I did a double feature of Drive and

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<v Speaker 1>Neon Demon in my brain was melting.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, Ron Perlman, everybody.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you? Yeah, Ria Perlman.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, wonder if they're related.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe they look very similar.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, so where did we leave off?

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<v Speaker 3>They came back after their their one semi successful you know,

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<v Speaker 3>offering of coconuts and things like that, and in the

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<v Speaker 3>early nineteen nineties they said, hey, let's take another stab

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<v Speaker 3>at this and let's bring a woman this time, which

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<v Speaker 3>turned out to be a really good idea.

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<v Speaker 1>It seems like, yeah, because this was the one encounter

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<v Speaker 1>that you could truly call peaceful, because they actually did

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<v Speaker 1>encounter the Sentineleese this time, and it totally makes sense

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<v Speaker 1>that the presence of a woman would have made it

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<v Speaker 1>a peaceful encounter, because I could see that if the

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<v Speaker 1>Sentinelese followed typical patriarchal structures, they don't take women on

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<v Speaker 1>raiding parties. So the presence of a woman would suggest

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<v Speaker 1>that this wasn't a rating party. And they let their

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<v Speaker 1>guard down for one reason, or I think that's the

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<v Speaker 1>likeliest reason. They let their guard down. And the way

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<v Speaker 1>that the Anthropological Society got them to basically interact with

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<v Speaker 1>them was to float coconuts to them from the boat.

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<v Speaker 1>And I guess from that first gift of coconuts in

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<v Speaker 1>the sixties, the Sentinel'ese were very happy to see those

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<v Speaker 1>things again.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh man, it's been decades. You tease this with coconuts.

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<v Speaker 3>These things are amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>My grandfather told me about these.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>Basically, so they did not fire any arrows. They floated

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<v Speaker 3>the coconuts. Some of the Sentineliese came into the water,

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<v Speaker 3>collected those things up, and they waded out to the boat,

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<v Speaker 3>even examined the boat, and allowed some of the outsiders

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<v Speaker 3>even to walk around on the beach and interact with

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<v Speaker 3>the women teenagers and children who they brought out, which

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<v Speaker 3>was I mean, this was a rousing success that just

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<v Speaker 3>should have stopped there.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it should have. I guess, well it kind of did,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't it. I mean that after that, India passed the

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<v Speaker 1>law that said no one to contact the Sentinel, least.

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<v Speaker 3>As far as the official Indian government goes. But that

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<v Speaker 3>didn't stop a certain someone from going.

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<v Speaker 1>No. Oh, actually no it didn't. In two thousand and six,

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<v Speaker 1>some fishermen from me and mar had to make an

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<v Speaker 1>emergency landing and they were killed. Their bodies were buried

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<v Speaker 1>in the sand of North Sentinel Island. But the more

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<v Speaker 1>famous death on North Sentinel Island came much more recently.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was in twenty eighteen that a twenty

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<v Speaker 1>six year old missionary and adventurer named John Allan Chow

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<v Speaker 1>died from arrow wounds on North Sentinel Island. And this

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<v Speaker 1>was not the first time he showed up on North

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<v Speaker 1>Sentinel Island.

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<v Speaker 2>No, he was trying to spread the word of God.

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<v Speaker 3>He was chronicling all of this in his diary, and

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<v Speaker 3>he knew what he was in for. He you know,

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<v Speaker 3>to his credit, he got all the vaccinations to make

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<v Speaker 3>sure that he didn't get them sick and stuff like that,

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<v Speaker 3>and he brought dental forceps apparently in case he got arrowed,

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<v Speaker 3>because he knew that was a possibility. He made a

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<v Speaker 3>few different trips. He had this you know, local fisherman

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<v Speaker 3>kind of take him out and back. The first time

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<v Speaker 3>he waited up, he brought a fish as a gift

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<v Speaker 3>and said, my name is John, I love you and

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<v Speaker 3>Jesus loves you, and it was harrows.

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<v Speaker 2>They did not get him.

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<v Speaker 3>He came back, they arrowed at him again, did not

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<v Speaker 3>get him again. And I guess fool me twice wasn't

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<v Speaker 3>in John Allen Chowles's repertoire because he came back a

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<v Speaker 3>third time and was arrowed for good.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah. The fisherman he bribed to take him out there,

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<v Speaker 1>and bribed as the word because they were knowingly breaking

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<v Speaker 1>the law by helping him. Contact the North Sentinelese they

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<v Speaker 1>reported that they saw his body being dragged along the

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<v Speaker 1>sand by the sentinelsee, and that they buried it. And

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<v Speaker 1>they buried all these guys, yeah, which I find interesting because.

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<v Speaker 2>It's respect, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, But John Allen chows remains are still there today,

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<v Speaker 1>as are the two fishermen who had to make an

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<v Speaker 1>emergency landing the fishermen from me and mar because part

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<v Speaker 1>of not contacting the Sentinellees is not raiding nor Sentinel Island,

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<v Speaker 1>trying to bring the people who killed those guys to

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<v Speaker 1>justice and or even recover the remains. So they're there

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<v Speaker 1>for well, who knows how long.

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<v Speaker 3>Probably for good. I also failed to mention that in

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<v Speaker 3>his second of the three trips, when he is arrowed at,

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<v Speaker 3>and I believe this was in his diaries, a young

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<v Speaker 3>boy actually shot an arrow through his waterproof bible that

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<v Speaker 3>he was holding up. And if that sort of symbolic

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<v Speaker 3>message wasn't enough to keep them away, then nothing would happen.

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<v Speaker 1>No, Yeah, because he came back. But yeah, he's on

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<v Speaker 1>one side, especially among evangelicals, he's viewed as literally a martyr.

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<v Speaker 1>On other sides, probably people on Instagram, he's viewed as

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<v Speaker 1>an interloper who should not have been where he was, Julie.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, And of course I don't think any loss of

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<v Speaker 3>life like that is okay. But I just think people

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<v Speaker 3>should heed the warnings like they don't want to be contacted.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so just don't contact.

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<v Speaker 1>Them, leave the North sent and the leaves alone. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>short Stuff is out.

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