God camouflaged me against Navy, Coast Guard: John Allen Chau in diary

CHENNAI: In the 13 pages of notes left behind by John Allen Chau, the 27-year-old American who was allegedly killed by North Sentinelese in the Andamans, it is clear that he was aware of the dangers of not just being killed by the Sentinelese but also of being caught by the Indian authorities for venturing into the restricted area without permission. “God sheltered me and camouflaged me against the Coast Guard and the Navy,” he wrote.

“His handwriting was bad, he wrote in unconnected sentences,” Andaman and Nicobar DGP Depender Pathak told TOI. “It was a misplaced adventure. He cannot be called a preacher, but his diary indicates that he was a believer in Christianity.”

The notes make some rare observations on the Sentinelese, who violently reject any contact with the outside world and are protected by Indian law.

Chau observed there could be about 250 inhabitants on the island. “Each hut has at least 10 inmates, including juveniles,” he wrote. The tribe’s language, he noted, has a lot of high-pitched sounds like “ba”, “pa”, “la” and “sa”. On their gestures, he wrote that opened arms indicated being unarmed and friendly, pointing a hand or finger showed location, and bow and arrow in hand meant they are “ready to shoot you”.

On one of his strolls on the island beach, Chau was confronted by a couple of tribesmen, armed with bow and arrow and shouting. Once a Sentinelese boy shot an arrow at him, but it hit Chau’s Bible.

“Why did a little kid have to shoot me today?” he wrote. “His high-pitched voice still lingers in my head. Father, forgive him and any of the people... who try to kill me, and especially forgive them if they succeed. What made them become this defensive and hostile?” His entries on November 16, the day before he was killed, suggest that he had visited a hut and gifted some things to the inhabitants. Chau had a premonition of his death. “If you want me to get actually shot or even kissed with (sic) an arrow, then so be it. I DON’T WANT TO DIE... Would it be wiser to leave and let someone else to continue? No. I don’t think so.”

Andaman police said Chau had approached the people of Karen community in eight villages in the Mayabunder tehsils of north and middle Andaman district to get in touch with the Sentinelese.