Paradise lost? Op-ed journalist Rajendra Ramlogan has used his weekly column to cast a critical yet fond eye over life in his native Trinidad and Tobago, often doing so within the context of regional and international developments. Can these sister Caribbean islands play to their strengths to throw off the corruption and crime that threaten to drag them down? Since independence in the 1960s, the struggle for Trinidad and Tobago has been to fulfil its early promise, with politics descending into name-calling and self-preservation rather than attaining the aspirations and hopes of early post-colonial leaders. Its cultural diversity, with a population of mixed African and Indian descent, makes TT a unique place with music, food and holidays like nowhere else, but it can also cause tensions. Ultimately to really love a place, one must truly know it in all its imperfections.