Serafina

Prologue

The speakers crackled and rattled overhead, "Señoras y señores estamos apunto de llegar al aeropuerto internacional de Aldamiz. Por favour abroche el cinturon de seguridad. La hora local es de 2,25 horas y la temperatura es de 34 grados Celsius. Espero que hayan disfrutado su vuelo con LAN Perú'" and almost immediately the Boeing 767 tilted and began its glide path earthward. Dr Vince Page glanced out of the window, it was a vast green canopy covering south eastern Peru but now in pockets it was becoming easier to see huge swathes of human activity. From up here the deforestation of the Amazon basin could clearly be seen. Directly below he could clearly make out the two rivers of the Tambopata and the Madre de Dios as they converged on Puerto Medrano, a city only officially recognised in 1985. The two rivers, tributaries of the mighty Amazon, meandered for miles into the distance.

The chief industries of Puerto Medrano are logging, gold dredging and Brazil nut collecting. Now the whole area is virtually logged out; only one mill remains. Rubber collection has long gone. Recent legislation in the European Union has put hundreds of Brazil nut collectors out of work along with their associated local factories. Some small amounts of gold are still collected from the river, mostly by teams of men and women with hand tools. Tourism and the related boat construction industry are currently the major sources of income although in recent years there has been some growth in eco tourism. There has also been a huge increase in illegal logging along the borders. These loggers are secretly entering the protected Madre de Dios reserve where there are thought to be at least two un-contacted tribes.

That's how  Dr Vince Page found himself in this environmentally sensitive part of the world. He was employed as a researcher for Survival International for many years, his area of speciality being 'un-contacted tribes'. His services had been specifically requested by the Peruvian Government.

He searched his pockets frantically for his ear plugs, if he didn't put them in soon he'd be deaf for hours when he landed. He didn't know if they really helped, he was a notoriously bad flyer. He fastened his seat belt and straightened out his copy of 'La Republica' newspaper and read the headline '30 matado en la protesta minera' (30 killed in mining protest). The airplane jolted and his ears began popping painfully, he read on to try and deal with his discomfort.

"Peru's government has given the green light to an Anglo-French company to drill for oil in the Amazon, as more than 30 people died in protests against the exploitation of the rainforest. The project, located on the Madre de Dios reserve is believed to be Peru's biggest oil discovery in thirty years. The company, Fortenka, a major gas supplier to the Europe, has in the past denied any un-contacted Indians live there.

Until recently, Fortenka, had been blocked from entering the area by local indigenous protesters. With help from Peru's armed forces, the company have managed to break through the blockade on at least one occasion.

High-ranking figures in Peru's government hope that Fortenka's project will transform the Peruvian economy. While protests against the company were taking place, Fortenka's chairman, Jean Deveraux, an Oxford University polo blue and scion of one of the wealthiest families in France, met Peru's President Garcia in Lima and pledged to invest $2bn in the project.

Fortenka intends to build new platforms and wells involving airlifting in, amongst other things, 42,000 sacks of cement. It admits that 'contamination of soil', 'contamination of water' and the flight of game and birds are possible consequences of its work. All these are essential to the survival of the un-contacted Indians who live there. More seriously, the Indians face the very real threat of contagion from diseases to which they have no immunity...."

The wheels hit the runway with a single jolt and Page rested the newspaper on his knees and closed his eyes with relief. When he opened them again he spotted a small by-line tucked away in the corner of the newspaper; "Peru's government has announced that a control post protecting un-contacted tribes will start operating in August. The aim of the post is to stop loggers and other outsiders from entering the Madre de Dios Reserve. The Las Piedras River is one of the main access routes into the reserve."

He pondered the two conflicting stories as the plane came to a stop. He realised that he was about to come between two opposing arguments. When pulling the tail of two tigers they rarely attack each other...