India, March 23 -- T
he rubber trees that grow across much of India come from the lands of the Mashco Piro in Peru.
In the late 19th-century, their territories were invaded by rubber barons who wanted the Hevea trees from the Amazon Basin, which are rich in the material needed for the latex in vulcanised rubber.
As the harvesting began on an industrial scale, the Mashco Piro were among the tribes who were displaced, captured, flogged, killed, raped and robbed.
Tribe members who survived are said to have fled deeper into the massive forests of south-east Peru, where they regained their isolation and returned to their traditional ways.
They are known to spend part of the year in palm-leaf huts, near the rivers they fish in. In the wet se...