John Allen Chau (December 18, 1991 – November 17, 2018) was an American Evangelical Christian missionary who was killed by the Sentinelese, a self-isolated uncontacted people, after illegally traveling to North Sentinel Island in an attempt to convert the tribe to Christianity.[3][4]
Early life
John Allen Chau was born on December 18, 1991, in Scottsboro, Alabama, the third and youngest child of Lynda Adams-Chau, an organizer for Chi Alpha, and Patrick Chau, a Chinese-American psychiatrist who left China during the Cultural Revolution.[5]
Throughout his childhood, Chau loved camping, hiking and travelling, and excelled at various club, charity, and other extracurricular activities. He admired numerous explorers and missionaries including David Livingstone and Bruce Olson. He later attended Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. Prior to 2018, Chau participated in missionary trips to Mexico, South Africa and Iraqi Kurdistan. He first traveled to the Andaman Islands in 2015 and 2016 as part of his missionary trips, but did not visit North Sentinel Island.[6]
Contact with Sentinelese and death
In 2017, Chau participated in boot camp missionary training by the Kansas City-based evangelical organization All Nations.[7] According to a report by The New York Times, the training included navigating a mock native village populated by missionary staff members who pretended to be hostile natives, wielding fake spears.[8] During that year he reportedly expressed his interest in converting the Sentinelese.
In October 2018, Chau traveled to and established his residence at Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he prepared an initial contact kit including picture cards for communication, gifts for Sentinelese people, medical equipment, and other necessities.[6] In August 2018, the Indian Home Ministry had removed 29 inhabited islands in Andaman and Nicobar from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime, in an attempt to promote tourism.[9][10] However, visiting North Sentinel Island without government permission remained illegal under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956.[11][12][13]
In November, Chau embarked on an expedition to North Sentinel Island, which he considered to be "Satan's last stronghold on Earth",[14] with the aim of contacting and living among the Sentinelese.[15][7] In preparation for the trip, he was vaccinated and quarantined,[16] and also undertook medical and linguistic training.[17] Chau then paid two fishermen Template:INR (US$335.47) to take him close to the island.[18] The fishermen were later arrested.[19]
Chau expressed a clear desire to convert the tribe and was aware of the legal and mortal risks he was taking his efforts, writing in his diary, "Lord, is this island Satan's last stronghold where none have heard or even had the chance to hear your name?", "The eternal lives of this tribe is at hand", and "I think it's worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people. Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed...Don't retrieve my body."[20][21][22]
On November 15, Chau attempted his first visit in a fishing boat, which took him about Template:Convert from shore.[18] The fishermen warned Chau not to go farther, but he canoed toward shore with a waterproof Bible. As he approached, he attempted to communicate with the islanders[23] and to offer gifts, but he retreated after facing hostile responses.[22][24] On another visit, Chau recorded that the islanders reacted to him with a mixture of amusement, bewilderment and hostility. He attempted to sing worship songs to them, and spoke to them in Xhosa, after which they often fell silent. Other attempts to communicate ended with them bursting into laughter.[24] Chau stated they communicated with "lots of high pitched sounds" and gestures.[25] Eventually, according to Chau's last letter, when he tried to hand over fish and gifts, a boy shot a metal-headed arrow that pierced the Bible he was holding in front of his chest, after which he retreated again.
On his final visit, on November 17, Chau instructed the fishermen to leave without him.[26] The fishermen later saw the islanders dragging Chau's body, and the next day they saw his body on the shore.[18]
Aftermath
Upon learning about Chau's death, the fishermen returned to Port Blair and gave Chau's diary to his friend, also a Christian preacher, residing in the capital city.[18] He informed Chau's family in the U.S., who contacted the American consulate in Chennai for assistance.[18] The Andaman government was notified on November 19.[18] On November 21, the Director General of Police issued a statement on the restrictions on public access to the North Sentinel Island.[18]
Despite efforts by Indian authorities, which involved a tense encounter with the tribe, Chau's body was not recovered.[7] Indian officials made several attempts to recover the body but eventually abandoned those efforts. An anthropologist involved in the case told The Guardian that the risk of a dangerous clash between investigators and the islanders was too great to justify any further attempts.[27] A murder case was opened following his death.[28]
Chau was criticized by Survival International among others for visiting the island despite the possibility of introducing pathogens to the native Sentinelese, to whom it could have been deadly since it was likely that the natives had not been previously exposed to diseases from outside the island.[5][29][30][31] All Nations, the evangelical organization that trained Chau, was criticized on social media for describing Chau as a martyr while expressing condolences for Chau's death. Chau's father also blamed his son's death on the missionary community for inculcating an extreme Christian vision within Chau.[6]
In response to Chau's death, M. Sasikumar of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, questioned the legal charge of murder and what he perceived as a romanticized version of the incident in the media. He wrote that the incident should instead serve as a warning that the "eyes-only" policy with regard to the Sentinelese needs to be more strictly enforced, and include the local fishermen in order to prevent a repetition.[3]
Michael Schönhuth, Professor for Cultural Anthropology at the University of Trier, Germany, found the media response to Chau's killing of cultural interest. He wrote that the narratives that emerged were part of a larger discussion regarding the proper relationship between the modern world and the remaining isolated indigenous peoples. Schönhuth wrote that the online presence of the Evangelical missionaries whose numbers had grown over the preceding twenty years, and in which Chau was an active participant, presented a narrative in which they were bringing civilization to a primitive people, and that the likelihood of missionaries being killed was not a deterrent, but an affirmation of the need for the "uncontacted people" to be rescued from a savage existence. Schönhuth faulted the media for playing into this narrative, ignoring the history of exploitation of the people in the region, which presented an alternative narrative in which the killing of Chau was self-defense. Schönhuth suggested that the media hype must be reinterpreted to allow for such alternatives to be understood.[32]
References
- ↑ Christian Martyr: John Allen Chau. Covenant Journey(November 21, 2018). Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- ↑ A Man's Last Letter Before Being Killed on a Forbidden Island(November 23, 2018). Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island: A Reappraisal of Tribal Scenario in an Andaman Island in the Context of Killing of an American Preacher. Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India({Template:Year).
- ↑ 'You guys might think I'm crazy': Diary of US 'missionary' reveals last days in remote island, McKirdy, Euan. CNN(November 22, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Last Days of John Allen Chau, Perry, Alex. Outside(July 24, 2019). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers, Conroy, J. Oliver(February 3, 2019). Retrieved 2020-07-01.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Police face off with Sentinelese tribe as they struggle to recover slain missionary's body. News.com.au(November 26, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ John Chau Aced Missionary Boot Camp. Reality Proved a Harsher Test., Gettleman, Jeffrey(November 30, 2018). Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ↑ Restricted Area Permit eased for foreigners visiting 29 Andaman and Nicobar Islands - GKToday. www.gktoday.in. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ↑ NCST to Visit A&N Islands from 4th to 6th December, 2018 to Investigate and Monitor the issue of US National Feared Killed by Protected Tribes. pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ↑ Protecting the Sentinelese. Drishti IAS. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ↑ Ministry of Tribal Affairs - Primitive Tribals in Hilly/Forest Areas. pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- ↑ John Allen Chau detailed efforts to convert islanders to Christianity in final diary entries: 'You guys might think I'm crazy'. ABC News(November 26, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ Killing Of American Missionary Ignites Debate Over How To Evangelize, Gjelten, Tom. NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
- ↑ John Allen Chau is No Jim Elliot. The Story of John Chau Illustrates the Dangers of Indoctrination in Evangelical Culture and Being Naïve, Bonner, David. Wondering Eagle(December 8, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ What John Allen Chau's Missions Agency Wants You to Know. Christianity Today(November 28, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ Slain missionary John Chau prepared much more than we thought, but are missionaries still fools?, Stetzer, Ed. The Washington Post(November 28, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 American Paid Fishermen Rs. 25,000 For Fatal Trip To Andamans, Banerjie, Monideepa. NDTV(November 22, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ Cops arrest suspects believed to help US missionary on fatal trip, Eustachewich, Lia. New York Post(November 23, 2018). Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ↑ "Satan's Last Stronghold...?" US Man Wrote Before Death on Andaman Island(23 November 2018). Retrieved 27 November 2018.
- ↑ Indian authorities struggle to retrieve US missionary feared killed on remote island. CNN(25 November 2018). Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 US tourist killed by tribe in Andaman and Nicobar's North Sentinel Island, seven arrested in connection with murder, Firstpost Staff. www.firstpost.com(21 November 2018). Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ↑ 'God, I don't want to die,' U.S. missionary wrote before he was killed by remote tribe on Indian island. The Washington Post(21 November 2018). Retrieved 22 November 2018.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 A Man's Last Letter Before Being Killed on a Forbidden Island(23 November 2018). Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ↑ Fear and faith: Inside the last days of an American missionary died on tribe's remote Indian Ocean island. The Washington Post(23 November 2018). Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ↑ US man killed by remote tribe was trying to spread Christianity. South China Morning Post. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ↑ India has no plans to recover body of US missionary killed by tribe. The Guardian(November 28, 2018). Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- ↑ John Allen Chau: 'Incredibly dangerous' to retrieve body from North Sentinel. BBC News(November 26, 2018). Retrieved 2020-06-15.
- ↑ John Allen Chau was brave. He was also reckless.(November 28, 2018). Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ↑ Survival International statement on killing of American man John Allen Chau by Sentinelese tribe, Andaman Islands. Survival International(November 21, 2018). Retrieved March 28, 2020.
- ↑ Missionary claims that John Chau did not pose a threat to the Sentinelese - Survival responds. www.survivalinternational.org. Survival International. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ↑ Dead missionaries, wild Sentinelese: An anthropological review of a global media event. Anthropology Today({Template:Year).