Uncontacted tribe beg for food from miners who are destroying their land

Survival International are calling for 'urgent protection' of an uncontacted tribe from nickel mining after members were 'forced' to beg miners for food.

The tribe of the Hongana Manyawa people have remained uncontacted on Halmahera Island, the largest island in the Maluku Islands, located in Indonesia, for many years. However, with their homes and land under threat from nickel mining companies and the damage to their land now so devastating, members of the tribe have since been forced to come out of what's left of their forest, begging miners for food in a bid to survive.

Between 300 to 500 uncontacted Hongana Manyawa people are believed to live inside the forest on the island, but now the group's lives are in danger.

Survival International reports that large areas of the rainforest have been 'allocated to mining companies' and despite the tribe's best efforts to scare miners away from their land - even standing up against bulldozers captured in 'shocking' footage - much of the forest has already been destroyed.

And the situation has only deteriorated further, as Survival International shared footage of members of the tribe being 'forced' out of their forest to make contact with miners to ask for food in a desperate bid to survive.

Members of uncontacted tribe Hongana Manyawa have been 'forced' to make contact in a bid to survive (YouTube/ Survival International)

The footage shows four of the Hongana Manyawa people walking out into the open towards a miner.

Survival International's website notes the tribe typically' refuse interactions with outsiders and rely entirely on their rainforest for survival'.

However, the video - uploaded to YouTube by Survival International - states: "Their land is being destroyed for mining, so they can't hunt. They've come to beg the miners for food."

A second clip shows the four members of the tribe walking arm and arm, being led through the miners' camp.

Survival International continues: "Such conditions count as forced contact and are a sign the Hongana Manyawa are at huge risk of being wiped out."

It's website warns: "Contact with outsiders can kill them through exposure to diseases to which they have no immunity."

The tribe are at 'huge risk' of being 'wiped out' (YouTube/ Survival International)

In a statement to Instagram, Senate Leader from Indonesia AA LaNyalla Mahmud Mattalitti has urged the government to 'immediately intervene to provide protection to the indigenous tribe,' citing Indonesia's 1945 Constitution, which recognizes Indigenous tribes should be protected.

The senate leader also appealed to all companies involved in work in the area, begging that 'whatever form it takes' that the 'development does not displace the surrounding communities, especially the indigenous tribe who lives in the interior, where they depend on the forest'.

Survival's Director Caroline Pearce has praised the senate leader's call for action, noting it offers 'a lifeline' to the Hongana Manyawa people.

She resolves: "The solution is clear: Their territory must be protected and must be free from mining and other developments. Eramet and other companies must abide by international law and stop mining on these territories, where they clearly have no consent.

"[...] Time is ticking for the uncontacted Hongana Manyawa. Their territory must be urgently protected, with a no-go-zone established before it’s too late."

UNILAD has contacted Eramet for comment.