Small mercies

Bamenda, I should say, is not one of the cities where Future for Africa works at present. Nonetheless, I was entertained to see a story published by the BBC this week reporting the creation of the Association of Short People of Cameroon (ASPC) in that city. It appears that to belong to the organisation prospective members can be no taller that 5'2". The BBC reports Bamenda-based jurist and founder of the ASPC Jonathan Fru as saying, "we felt that we should protect our interests. During recruitment, especially into the armed forces, there is always a height limit which disqualifies many short people [a person must be above 1.65m (5'4") to join the armed forces in Cameroon]." Not being a giant myself I have some sympathy. It just shows that there is even more common ground shared by the people of Cameroon and the UK than I thought.

All the very best,

Paul Stevenson