By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-in-Chief

Mr. David Cole (a.k.a. Pa Cole) a Sierra Leonean refugee in Louisville, Kentucky, is in critical condition at the University of Louisville Hospital after four unidentified black men allegedly assaulted and severely tortured him to unconsciousness. Cole in his mid-50s, about 5ft. and 3ins. tall and weights about 150bs reportedly suffers from a swollen brain, a severely battered face following what our correspondent calls intense pummeling by four angry black men.

The unprovoked melee and subsequent pummeling that left David Cole unconscious happened at about 11:00PM, Saturday night April 28 when he was coming out of the McDonald’s Restaurant on Second Street and Broad Way in downtown Louisville, a very busy area seen by many as the commercial artery of the city. According to our sources, emergency doctors had to sedate Cole who was deeply disturbed by the torture for fear that he may he cause further injuries to his body. As we went to press, a team of specialists at the University’s Critical Care Unit awaits X-Ray results on his spinal cord to see if no damage was done.

            David Cole is among many Sierra Leonean refugees who fled the West African country during the bloody war and immigrated to the States through one of the numerous Christian charities that sponsor displaced persons and help resettle them across the globe. While little is known about his background, our sources say he has family in Free Town, the Capital of Sierra Leone and that after fleeing war ravaged Sierra Leone he had lived in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali and then the United States. In Kentucky, Pa Cole as his much younger colleagues call him, was always in the company of some refugees who recently relocated to Boston Massachusetts, and no one seems to know their whereabouts except Cole, who now fights for his life.

            Already, Louisville police and the CBI have issued a preliminary case report and intense investigations since mounted to identity and bring the perpetrators to justice. What is not clear is whether Pa Cole may have ran into a gang or may have while in the restaurant, exchanged words with one of the four men.

            Since the incident, The Gambia Echo’s contributor Mr. Omar Saidy-Khan who also, happens to be a senior official affiliated with the plight of the elderly through which he encountered Cole, has made numerous attempts to contact either the Sierra Leonean Embassy or the Sierra Leone Permanent Mission at the United Nations to no avail. Mr. Saidy-Khan has authorized us to provide his contact information to facilitate any link that may lead them to David Cole’s family viz: 

Mr. Omar Saidy-Khan, Office Phone: 502-587-8673 (Extn. 223), Mobile 502-419-8187. Alternatively, you can E-mail Mr. Khan: osaidy-khan@elderserveinc.org 

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Our Yundum Barracks whistle blower Officer X (a.ka. "OX") has some interesting revelations and we are busy piecing the pieces together. Once finished, we will publish OX's many, many pieces on Yahya Jammeh. Also, will  Youth Minister Omar Faye face criminal charges in North Carolina? Stay tune to The Echo!!