Introduction

In 1910 my grandfather initially migrated to Trinidad from China, and although my parents were also born in China, I was born, in 1955, and grew up in Trinidad. In 1970 my family, including myself, emigrated to Australia where we have been ever since, although we did return to Trinidad in 1972-1974. In the intervening years most of the links between my family and Trinidad have been gradually severed, apart from those with our immediate relations still living on the island. I had last been in Trinidad briefly in 1982, and in 1986-1988 I returned there to conduct anthropological fieldwork for my doctoral thesis (Lum, 1989).