John Allen Chau
John Allen Chau | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 18, 1991[1] Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | November 17, 2018 (aged 26) North Sentinel Island, India |
| Cause of death | Sentinelese tribal attack |
| Resting place | North Sentinel Island, India |
| Education | B.Sc. Health and Exercise Science (Sports Medicine), Oral Roberts University[2] |
| Occupation | Missionary |
John Allen Chau was a Christian missionary who died while attempting to convert the native Sentinelese, a remote Indian tribe, to Christianity.[3]
Early life
Chau was born in December 1991 in the U.S. state of Alabama, the third and youngest child of Lynda Adams-Chau, an organizer for Chi Alpha, and Patrick Chau, a Chinese-American psychiatrist.[4] His father escaped to Hong Kong during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, after being forced to give up his artistic training at age 16 to work on a farm, and later immigrated to the United States.[4] Patrick learned English by listening to the radio, and worked odds jobs before being accepted to study chemistry at the University of Southern California, and medicine at Oral Roberts University.[4]
Chau's parents were both Christian, which influenced Chau throughout his life.
Career
Mission to North Sentinel Island
In November 2018, Chau embarked on an expedition to North Sentinel Island, which he considered to be "Satan's last stronghold on Earth," with the aim of contacting and living among the Sentinelese.[5][6] He expressed a strong desire to preach Christianity to the tribe.[7] In preparation for the trip, Chau was vaccinated and quarantined,[8] and also undertook medical and linguistic training.[7] However, he did not seek permission from the Indian authorities before embarking, making his trip illegal under Indian law,[9] as foreign citizens must obtain a permit to visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with nobody being allowed on North Sentinel.[10] Instead, Chau paid two fishermen Rs 25,000 to take him close to the island.[11] The fishermen were later arrested.[12]
Despite efforts by Indian authorities, which involved a tense encounter with the tribe, Chau's body has still not been recovered.[6] Ultimately, Indian officials concluded that the risk of a dangerous clash between investigators and islanders was too great to justify further attempts to recover the body. Indian officials made several attempts to recover Chau's 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.[13] His death is officially listed as a murder, though both the Indian and the U.S. governments have stated that they will not pursue legal charges against the Sentinelese natives.[14] Chau was the subject of significant criticism for his perceived recklessness in visiting the island despite the possibility of introducing deadly pathogens to the native Sentinelese.[15][4][16]
References
- ^ "Christian Martyr: John Allen Chau". Covenant Journey. 2018-11-21.
- ^ "A Man's Last Letter Before Being Killed on a Forbidden Island". The New York Times. 2018-11-23.
- ^ McKirdy, Euan. "'You guys might think I'm crazy': Diary of US 'missionary' reveals last days in remote island". CNN. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ a b c d Perry, Alex (2019-07-24). "The Last Days of John Allen Chau". Outside Online. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ wonderingeagle (2018-12-08). "John Allen Chau is No Jim Elliot. The Story of John Chau Illustrates the Dangers of Indoctrination in Evangelical Culture and Being Naïve". Wondering Eagle. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ a b "Police face-off with hostile tribe". NewsComAu. 2018-11-25. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ a b Stetzer, Ed. "Perspective | Slain missionary John Chau prepared much more than we thought, but are missionaries still fools?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ "What John Allen Chau's Missions Agency Wants You to Know". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ "John Allen Chau detailed efforts to convert islanders to Christianity in final diary entries: 'You guys might think I'm crazy'". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ "American national John Allen Chau violated every rule in the book to meet the Sentinelese". Hindustan Times. 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ "American Paid Fishermen Rs. 25,000 For Fatal Trip To Andamans". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Eustachewich, Lia (2018-11-23). "Cops arrest suspects believed to help US missionary on fatal trip". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Michael Safi; Denis Giles (28 November 2018). "India has no plans to recover body of US missionary killed by tribe". The Guardian.
- ^ "US Will Not Seek To Prosecute North Sentinelese Tribe That Killed Missionary". www.ladbible.com. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
- ^ Elonai, Maisha (November 28, 2018). "John Allen Chau was brave. He was also reckless". The Washington Post. 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.