Although I am of primarily Chinese heritage, my upbringing in the remote countryside of a West Indian island so far removed from any semblance of an Asian community has provided me with a wealth of experience and exposure quite unlike what one would expect of the typical Asian, and to a large extent, Caribbean islander. Add to this the fact that my immediate and extended family are multi-racial, both in the true sense as well as figuratively speaking, and you end up with a person who can truly claim to have experienced the best and worst of many worlds.

As with many Trinidadians, I grew up in a multi-racial household. However, it was the particular fusion of races within my nuclear family that categorized me as a minority and which formed the base for molding me into who I am today. I am the product of an environment influenced primarily by Chinese customs, traditions and beliefs. My grandmother, whose ancestry is Scottish and East Indian, has lived with us for longer than I can recall, and over my life injected more often than not a healthy dose of both cultures as well. The place in which I grew up, and in which my family still lives, is Fifth Company Village, a small community represented perhaps equally by a comfortable mix of those who descended from Africans brought in as slaves, East Indians who came as indentured labourers, and a small but significant cultural web of people from around the world who at different points in time let their presence be felt on the island. Such a rich racial diversity and the subsequent cultural diffusion and assimilation had a tremendous impact on a young, impressionable mind, and is reflected strongly today in how I view the world.

My great-grandfather was one of two Scottish brothers who came to a colonial Trinidad to seek their fortunes on a plantation estate. Authoritative and at times commanding, Sidney Knox was a stickler for perfection, and to death steadfastly refused to shed his suit in favour of a wardrobe more suited to the humid tropical climate. My great-grandmother came to Trinidad a young girl named Chabraji from Northern India. There she met my great-grandfather, and together they produced several children, including my grandmother, Ivy Theresa.
     My grandfather came from China lured by the prospect of a new land with promises of a future more fulfilling than what he faced at home. Like many of the other immigrants, Hong Chin spoke little English, and after some mutual misunderstanding with immigration officers, his last name was transformed to a two-part surname, and which is what I carry today. Armed with a brand new anglicized name, Henry settled in a rural part of the island, and like most Chinese entrepreneurs at that time set up a small grocery on his premises. There he met and married my grandmother, Ivy, and raised a family of seven children including Neville, my father.
     As was the custom then among Chinese immigrant families, my father was sent to China to learn about his culture when he was a four-year old boy. There he spent many hard years in the remote village where his father grew up, and it was there he met and married my mother, Su-Yuen. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away sometime afterwards, and my father was called back to Trinidad to fulfill his duties as eldest son. My mother then moved to Hong Kong, where she spent several difficult years as a single mother, raising my sister, Jean. It was around that time that England began losing control over her island colonies, and it would be many years before my parents saw each other again face to face. Finally, in 1968, they were reunited when my mother and sister were granted Trinidadian citizenship by the government of the newly independent island.
     My brother was born in 1969. Baptized "Peter Vincente" on the wishes of my Catholic grandmother, he was given the Chinese name "Ngee Aun" by my parents. I was born in 1972. My parents gave me the name "Wing Aun," which means "Forever Peace."