I continue to be the bete noire of the Trinidadians in the Caribbean and here in the UK. My younger brother visited me for Christmas and regaled the family with stories about the responses to my recent Channel 4 documentary Trouble in Paradise.

He brought with him umpteen clippings culled from the local newspapers. I was not in any way surprised. Some years ago, I produced a documentary, The Gathering Storm, which speculated that a huge social upheaval was inevitable. The upheaval came within months of the broadcast, in the form of an armed insurrection. I was accused of planning the insurrection in order to justify the documentary.

The Trinidadian special branch were on to me whenever I returned to the island. At my father's funeral, I was refused the 40-day credit that undertakers offer to all bereaved citizens. They demanded cash when I identified myself. What struck me at the time was the quality of the journalism. Every single one of the local journalists wrote lengthy articles reviewing the documentary without having seen it. They continue in the same vein today.

My brother was troubled by a particular article. The author, a Trinidadian living in England, had warned that I would receive a savage beating ("a cutarse", was the specific term used) whenever I came into contact with Trinis, as he referred to them. My brother knows that "I ent 'fraid bois" or, in translation, that "I love a bit of a rumble". But advancing age, he thought, might just put me at a disadvantage.

Throughout the summer, I studiously avoided carnival parties that involved Trinidadians. I heard on the grapevine that the calypso competition, organised around the Notting Hill Carnival, was won by a band that pummelled me in its delivery.

But the day had to come. My stepdaughter died and was buried in Christmas week. I faced the throng ready and certain that I was in good form. Within seconds, there came a verbal attack on my lack of patriotism. But a young man who had only recently arrived in England from Trinidad took my side. He went through the documentary frame by frame. I was amazed at his accuracy and he enlightened me, too. He said rather sadly that my documentary was too moderate: "Wait for the upcoming election and all will be revealed."

Voter padding (like gerrymandering, only worse) is how the corruption of electoral votes is being described. Thousands - and I mean thousands - of votes were transferred from safe seats held by the ruling party to marginals. In one house, 40 voters were registered; in another - a mere two-bedroom cottage- 80 were registered. The prime minister had told his supporters (we filmed the meeting): "Do unto others as they would do unto to you, only do it first." He outlined meticulously how voters should register in marginal constituencies, but spoke as if it were a question of their moving house. His supporters knew better. And when the election came, the ruling party won 19 out of 36 constituencies. Two successful candidates turned out to be American citizens, which is forbidden in the constitution.

After the elections, the prime minister presented a list of ministers to the president. Defeated candidates had been appointed as ministers. One of them was to be minister of national security. The president refused to certify that appointment. The result was a constitutional impasse.

"It happen in the United States with Bush," they said, "so who is we?" They wear their degeneration proudly on puffed chests.

Meanwhile, a deep racial divide sharpens the constitutional issue. The victorious party represents Indians, the losers Africans. All this is intensified a thousandfold by BP Amoco's enormous investment in natural gas fields. Increases in the price of oil enlarge the public purse and thus intensify the scramble for state funds between the two main races.

Another storm is gathering and remember, you read it here first.

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