Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 05/26/2025 5:57:41 AM PDT by texas booster
A US tourist was arrested for entering North Sentinel Island, where the inhabitants shun all contact with the outside world. The tourist had carried a coconut and Diet Coke as a "gift" for the Sentinelese people.
An American tourist was arrested for entering a restricted island with an isolated tribe carrying a can of Diet Coke and a coconut, Indian police said on Thursday.
The 24-year-old man entered North Sentinel Island, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands off India's southeastern coast.
He wanted to meet the Sentinelese people, who are untouched by the modern world.
Numbering around 150, the Sentinelese shun all contact with the outside world and have been known to throw spears at anyone who comes close. Their language and culture remain a mystery to outsiders.
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Indians and foreign nationals alike are banned from traveling within five kilometers of North Sentinel Island in order to protect the Indigenous people from diseases and to preserve their way of life.
"He landed briefly for about five minutes, left the offerings on the shore, collected sand samples, and recorded a video before returning to his boat. A review of his GoPro camera footage showed his entry and landing into the restricted North Sentinel Island," Andaman and Nicobar Islands police chief HGS Dhaliwal told the AFP news agency.
"The American citizen was presented before the local court after his arrest and is now on a three-day remand for further interrogation," he added.
Police said the tourist previously tried to enter the island in October 2024 using an inflatable kayak, but was stopped by the hotel staff. He later attempted again in January 2025.
This time he initially tried to catch attention by using a whistle. He then left the coconut and Diet Coke as a "gift" and made no contact with the tribe, locals said.
It is unclear what punishment he may receive. The Andamans are also home to the 400-strong Jarawa tribe, who activists say are also threatened by contact from outsiders.
"It's very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out," Caroline Pearce, the director of Survival International, an organization that works to protect indigenous people told the DPA news agency.
She said the tourist's apparent behavior was "idiotic."
Just saw this story this morning, and decided to post to the ever (un)popular N Sentinal Island ping list.
He flies all the way around the world to leave a can of Diet Coke?
Sometimes I think the US produces more jerks than anywhere else in the world.
Idiot deserves whatever they mete out as punishment.
I’m glad someone is intent on protecting this group.
But this tourist is not identified?
It is assumed that a plague had hit the North Sentinelese people and they blame Western goods and people for it. That’s probably they will kill you if you bring gifts to them, because they think you are being hostile.
I have a hunch he was a Florida man 😂
Ha—could well be!
I bet no one got COVID on that island.
I haven’t found his name yet.
Betting on rich kid trying to spend a year seeing the world in the gap year before college.
Hey, you made it to India! See the Taj Mahal, take a dip in the Ganges, get laid in Calcutta.
Then you will really have memories that last a lifetime.
Gap year for a 24yo?
I’ve seen stuff about that place. The inhabitants,it’s said,are basically from the Stone Age and will kill any stranger.
Yes, he's a pompous idiot.
BTW, I'm a big fan of Survival International. I do wish there was a way we could do that and simultaneously learn from the tribes how they manage the landscapes about them. But until we learn how to do that without putting them at risk, uncontacted tribes need to be left alone.
Well, with the way American kids grow up nowadays ... or the lack thereof, its possible.
He was there to sell them a car warranty
Virtue....signaled
Of course not; they don't have TVs.
There’s a meme out there, an image of these people jumping around on the shore with spears in hand while some assclown videos them ... meme is “Border Patrol World Champions!”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.