When chaos and violence once again engulfed Haiti after the collapse of its government, best-selling author Mitch Albom, his wife Janine and eight volunteers faced the difficult question of how to return home.
Amid rampant gang violence and ferocious riots, Albom and the others were flown from Haiti Tuesday night in an effort led by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., and Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. .
“Our group was ten people and we ran towards this helicopter in the middle of the night, because gangs shoot at helicopters and you have to go at night,” Albom said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” on Wednesday.
“They put the ten of us in a helicopter that had four seats. So basically we were just a bunch of people. It was right out of one of those movies, you know, go, go, go, go. And you're in, you're up and you are flying”.
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Albom and the nine other volunteers were in Port-au-Prince for their regular visit to a local orphanage run by their charity Have Faith Haiti when the current crisis erupted last week.
“[The last few days have been] “It's crazier than even normal in Haiti,” Albom said. “As soon as we got there, the gangs started breaking into the prisons and releasing all the prisoners. And the next thing you know, the airports were closed, the ports were closed, the roads were closed, the borders were closed and no there was a way out.”
“We spent the eight days we were held captive there, stocking up on food and water, trying to get fuel on the black market. Because it's very possible that, with the government gone, everything will turn into chaos there, and then “I can't get nothing. So we stocked up on, hopefully, a month's worth of supplies. “We asked people to help us on the Internet, and they did.”
Although no stranger to gang violence and political unrest, Haiti's recent crisis erupted on February 29 when then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry traveled to Kenya seeking help to combat the gangs.
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Herny has since been unable to return to Haiti as gangs burned police stations, attacked the main airport and raided two of the country's largest prisons.
“It's crazy,” Albom said. “It's something we can't imagine, and what we went through, not being able to leave, being in a country you can't leave, is something no American has ever gone through. You go through it once and “I realize that This is how Haitians live all the time. And that simply should not be tolerated.”
On Tuesday, Henry announced he would resign, bowing to international pressure to do so amid the turmoil that has overwhelmed the country.
The announcement came hours after officials, including Caribbean leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met in Jamaica for an emergency meeting to discuss Haiti's growing crisis, compounded by violent law-breaking gangs. and order in the country.
Brazil, Canada, France, Mexico, the United Nations and the United States are all in talks about how to help the multidimensional crisis in Haiti.
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Albom emphasized the need for American intervention to address the current conflict.
“These gangs need to be dealt with. They need outside intervention,” he said. “And I know no one has an appetite for American intervention in foreign places, but this is right off our shores. And if that country falls, neighboring Caribbean countries are in danger. That's what happens when there is unrest in a region. We did it “We occupied Haiti in the early 20th century for 15 years… We wrote its constitution. “We have an obligation to care for that country and its precious children, especially the ones we see every day.”
The best-selling author added that he hopes to return to Haiti and the children left in the orphanage run by his charity.
“I'm extraordinarily worried about our kids. And the moment I can get back there, I will,” he said.
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“My thoughts are with our children and the other Americans who are there, and there are many other people,” Albom added. “There are so many Americans there who volunteer at orphanages, organizations and water projects. There are Canadians there, several thousand of them that we know of. There are other foreign nationals who can't get out and, and I'm sure they live in fear of what will happen next. And that is why we cannot forget about them. “This… doesn't end because our group was able to leave.”
Albom is perhaps best known for his celebrated memoir, “Tuesdays with Morrie,” as well as the recently published New York Times best-selling fiction titles, “Stranger in a Lifeboat” and “The Little Liar.”
Fox News' Lawrence Richard, Peter Aitken and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
