Bestselling author and award-winning journalist Mitch Albom said he was trapped in chaos-ridden Haiti and had to flee in the dead of night on a helicopter with nine others, including his wife.
Albom, the author of the blockbuster book, “Tuesdays With Morrie,” said in an interview with NBC News’ Gabe Guiterrez that a visit to an orphanage he established in Haiti turned terrifying when prisoners were freed, setting off bedlam on the troubled island.
“The country fell into great turmoil,” Albom said Wednesday in a Zoom interview. “The airports were closed. The ports were taken over. The borders were closed. The streets were blocked.”
The orphanage, called Have Faith Haiti, is run by a nonprofit founded by Albom. He and the volunteers there found themselves stuck in Port-au-Prince, the capital, as the nation descended into violence by armed rebels and militias in recent weeks. Routes out of Haiti had been cut off, stranding the group.
Albom said a private helicopter was arranged by two congressional members — Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who was tapped by Michigan Republican Rep. Lisa McClain — to help his group escape on Tuesday. After “a couple of failed attempts,” Albom and crew were able to fly “from an undisclosed location,” he said, to the Dominican Republic.
They could take their passports, but no other belongings. He had expected a 12-seat helicopter, but the one that arrived held only four. But Albom, eight volunteers and his wife Janine piled in anyway.
