If it aint broke, don't fix it

On the 4th of September, the TV program 'Sunday Night' featured an adventure writer and one of the show's cameramen and their encounter with Brazil's Suruwaha Tribe. Considered one of the most elusive people on earth, the tribe have lived the same way as they had for thousands of years and still retain ancient rituals like human sacrifice. According to the show, only a few scientists and government officials have been granted access to the tribe and that 'Sunday Night' would be the first and only show on TV that would have access to them.
Naturally, I was intrigued about the documentary but also somewhat concerned. The cynic in me thought that it would be nothing more than an exploitation of a tribe of people who are best off left alone. Well, I decided to put my pessimism aside and watched it.

I wish I didn't. Why? Because my suspicions were confirmed. What I saw were two ignoramuses who zealously tried to make celebrities out of these people and suggest that it would be a good idea to somehow civilise them. They also had the audacity to insinuate that the tribe were savages and that their practices and rituals were unnatural and constantly referred to them as 'Indians' (You're not in India, guys. You're in the Amazon. Call them Natives if you want but how about dropping the nickname that only came to be thanks to a historical faux pas). Talk about a total lack of respect. And to top it off, I fear that what these two guys did is expose this peaceful tribe to the rest of the world and when that happens, it usually leads to people invading their land, destroying the tribe and its culture and trying to assimilate them into a society they are unfamiliar with where they are likely to fall prey to poverty, crime, unemployment and all the other traps in society.

First of all, you can call these people's practices and culture savage and unnatural all you want but that's because you are looking at it from your own perspective. For the Suruwaha Tribe, it is all normal and a part of their life. I'm pretty sure they would look at us 'civilised folks' dressed in fancy clothes, eating with silver utensils, getting around in vehicles, suffering from diseases etc and think that it is us who are living unnaturally. These two had no right to barge in on this tribe's space and criticise their way of life. Surely you wouldn't let someone into your home and tell you to your face that your lifestyle sucks.
Secondly, if you look at history, from the Australian Aborigines to the Native Americans you'll see that invading native land and trying to change the people and force them into a world they are unfamiliar with is dangerous work. You remember what happened? These people fell prey to diseases introduced by the settlers, had their homes taken away, their culture was destroyed, they turned to crime out of desparation etc. In the present time, they are still more likely than most to be unemployed, jailed or living a shorter life expectancy. Clearly intervention and civilisation didn't benefit them 100%. Do we really want the same thing happening to the Suruwaha Tribe?

I guess if there's one phrase that sums up my thoughts on this matter, it is 'if it aint broke, don't fix it.' The Suruwaha Tribe is perfectly fine leading their current life, their culture is what it is and they should be left alone. No one should be trying to intervene in these people's lives just because they think some aspects of it is disgusting. If people have a problem with it, who really cares? It's not your life, people, nor is it your culture and you really have no business telling people what's wrong with their way of life and try to change them.