Missionary’s death an inspiration for Hanson
Many lessons could and have been drawn from the story of an American Christian missionary killed this month when he tried to contact a hostile huntergatherer tribe on an isolated island in the Indian Ocean.
Some see John Chau as a symbol of Western arrogance. Some Christians see him as a martyr, if perhaps a mis- guided one.
But Australian politician Pauline Hanson, who has pre- viously sought to ban Asians and Muslims from immigrating, gleaned from Chau’s slaying a model for a national immigration policy.
Hanson has told the Australian Senate that the ancient tribe of North Sentinel Island has the right idea.
‘‘I for one will not be condemning the Sentinelese as racist for keeping their borders closed, nor will I condemn them for their lack of diversity,’’ Hanson said on Tuesday after introducing a motion of support for the tribe’s ‘‘zero-gross immigration policy’’.
The few dozen people who live on North Sentinel are one of the last uncontacted tribes on Earth, and they have resisted contact with the rest of the world throughout modern history.
Hanson declared herself a champion of North Sentinel’s protected status within Indian territory. ‘‘The isolated people of the North Sentinel Island has highlighted a fact that many in his place are reluctant to admit: that immigration can have a devastating impact on a people’s culture and way of life," she said.
‘‘You would be hard pressed to find a single expert who would argue against protecting the Sentinelese people’s culture and way of life through limiting migration to their island.’’
The rest of the Senate did not grant her motion.