Comments on: BBC series ‘Tribe’ returns to our screens

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 19:40:07 +0000

We have to do something now for the Penan tribe before its to late I am going to raise awareness localy as much as I can and get in touch with my local Friends of the Earth to see what else can be done ….If all of us do this we will have a strong powerfull voice that the Media will have to listen to and hopefully bring it the forefront of everyones minds my email ad is suzannestrn@aol.com please get in touch with ideas.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:02:19 +0000

As I think almost all of the subsequent replies have said, few of us see Bruce Parry’s programs as ‘tribal voyeurism’. Beyond the fact that the program does allow the tribes to have a voice, as was particularly effective with the Penan episode, I think it is worth mentioning that use of the media is a complicated and delicate thing and if Bruce was to go out and use his influence to front campaigns for all these tribes then he would jeopardise the current relationship he has with his audience, and risk being seen as someone who is simply there to fund-raise which whether we like it or not is not something which makes people watch a TV show and in the end may mean that the tribes end up with no voice at all.

By: Rob H

Rob H — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:43:13 +0000

If you found the Parry show interesting then please consider reading “Stranger in the Forest” by Eric Hansen. He spent many weeks with the Penan back in the 1970’s and paints a great picture of their lifestyle prior to the encroachment of the lumber companies. A great read. Please do what you can to help these people.

By: Anna A

Anna A — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:18:51 +0000

I studied Anthropology and am currently doing an MA in Ecology with a dissertation in Sustainable Development. Nothing has moved me as much as hearing the voice of the Penan expressing their views on ‘Tribe’. I will certainly be writing a ‘dead tree letter’ and would love to know if there will be any follow up to find out how the Malaysian government have responded. Whatever the ethics of the show – and I agree with Dominic’s comments above – Bruce Parry always manages to establish an amazing rapport with the peoples he visits and it makes great and wothwhile television. I will certainly be buying the DVD (is it out yet?) in order to show it to my children.

By: Toby Marsden (Survival)

Toby Marsden (Survival) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:27:03 +0000

Thanks everyone for your comments. I've just posted another article with details of some letters you can write to support the Penan. It really does work: we've found that letters from Survival supporters have helped to change government and corporate policies time and time again.

Please try to find a few minutes to write an e-mail (or, better, write a dead-tree letter -- these are by far the best).

By: Caroline Taylor

Caroline Taylor — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:01:16 +0000

I’m adding yet another voice to the many moved by Bruce Parry’s Tribe program on the plight of the Penan. I would also like to do more than make a one-off donation to Survival – and I agree with Rob that it would be excellent if Bruce could support a campaign on the Penan’s behalf, or at least endorse one with his name and mug shot. So how about it Survival?

Indiginous tribal people like the Penan and their way of life are infinitely precious – perhaps even more than we realise – and should be protected at all costs.

By: Anna M

Anna M — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 14:45:00 +0000

I too, have to agree with Dominic, Rob and Al and I would not have found this place if it wasn’t for Bruce Parry and ‘Tribe’. And what Bruce made me realise with help from the Penans, is that we can no longer just sit around feeling guilty – we actually have to do something NOW and hopefully it won’t be too late.

By: Rob Vaughan

Rob Vaughan — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 08:39:51 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree with Dominic.
I too was moved by the Penan programme as I am sure a large number of other people will be. The Tribe series is hugely educational and highly enjoyable, but also reminds us of what we have and what we have lost.
Our way of life is impacting people in places like Borneo and our continuing demand isn’t going to go away over night. Whilst there is money to be made, minorities will be exploited and displaced.
However, to criticise Tribe for ‘tribal voyeurism’ is shortsighted, I too have felt moved to do something and I’m obviously not alone in searching out this site. What I will do aside of donating to Survival I’m not sure, yet. But the programme moved me stongly enough to know that what I will do will be more than just a one off ‘token of guilt’ donation.
As Bruce Parry is the public face of Tribe, perhaps a campaign fronted by him would gather more public support. But realistically the only way to achieve that is by an organisation such as Survival starting something and asking Bruce to lend his support and time. Perhaps through the support of people like myself who watched the series and therefore feel compelled to take some action, this might happen.

Rob

By: Dominic Williams

Dominic Williams — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:34:49 +0000

People, before critizing Bruce Parry’s work, and the principle of documenting tribes like the Penan, PLEASE CONSIDER THIS. The sole reason that I am on this page is that I have just watched Bruce Parry’s program covering the Penan on the BBC. I was so moved by this program that I decided that my company should make a donation to a relevant charity, and Googled “bruce parry penan charity”. That is why I am here.

From what I’ve seen, his Tribe programs extensively cover the problems and aspirations of people like the Penan. But even if these particular programs did a poor job, it is being a tad to ideological to contend that it is not in the best interests of the Penan or similar tribes for reporters to go out to them and report on the situation they find. This flies in the face of common sense.

If you really care about situations like this, and I am sure most visitors to this page really do, then you have to be realistic about where the world now is and what can be done. Any chance of totally protecting the environment and way of life of the Penan and similar people’s has already been lost. Success can now only be achieved in degrees. The task is to save as much forest as possible, and to get people like this the best possible deal for future, and in the process save a little piece of all of our humanity.

The difficulty is mammoth. Meaningful results will only be achieved with the assistance of serious funding and widespread and coordinated support amongst the caring chattering classes – which right now are distracted by climate change issues in general.

The only possible way to galvanise people to action is by disseminating the facts and the spoken points of view of people like the Penan i.e. the more the very moving stories like this can be told by documentary the better.

Here’s to you Bruce Parry!

By: Emma

Emma — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 15:27:39 +0000

I totally agree with Rob & Al’s comments & i think the show is so intresting. Whatever tribe or place they visit we always get to see Bruce finding out everything he can to understand them & there beliefs & he is always up there ready to give his all.