Video: Human Zoo

Protected Indian Tribe Exploited

Human Rights – Politicians and human rights activists are not too keen on a video showing women from a protected tribe in the Indian islands dancing for tourists in exchange for food. The women, of the Jarawa tribe of the Andaman Islands, are accused of being put on display by a bribed local policeman.

The video was released by the British newspaper The Observer and has prompted an investigation by India’s Tribal Affairs minister. The minister went on to say, “It’s deplorable. You cannot treat human beings like beasts for the sake of money. Whatever kind of tourism is that, I totally disapprove of that and it is being banned.”

In addition to the video, The Observer journalists reported having seen tourists throwing bananas and biscuits to the tribespeople. In addition, the journalists reported having been told how much to bribe local officials to spend a day with the primitive tribe. All of this adds up to what Survival International, an organization established to work on behalf of protected tribes such as the Jarawa, has called “human zoos.”

The nomadic tribe are thought to be the first people to cross from Africa to Asia successfully and are among a total of five rare tribes that inhabit the islands south and east of the Indian mainland.

Read more at: The Observer