PORT-AU-PRINCE — American author Mitch Albom was evacuated from Haiti amid ongoing gang violence and unrest.
Albom, 65, was visiting his orphanage Have Faith Haiti when he found himself stranded.
“The airports were closed, the ports were closed, the roads were closed and suddenly we had no way out,” the “Tuesdays with Morrie” author said.
Albom was among a small group of people airlifted Tuesday out of the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince, the center of the civil disorder. He is now back on American soil, he said in an Instagram post.
“A group of us from Have Faith Haiti, including my wife and myself, were evacuated overnight from Haiti, where we had been sheltering in place since a state of emergency was declared,” he wrote.
American novelist and former Detroit Free Press sportswriter Mitch Albom
“I had a responsibility to bring home 8 wonderful volunteers who were working with us. But my wife’s and my hearts ache for our kids still there,” Albom continued. “Saying goodbye to them this time was horribly difficult. We pray for help in making their country safe for them again and we will be back with them the moment it is possible.”
Have Faith Haiti is operated by A Hole in the Roof Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Albom.
The journalist and author said he considered himself “luckier than a lot of others” and asked people to pray for those still in Haiti.
“My wife and I are safe tonight. Many Americans, Canadians, and others who ate still stuck are not,” Albom said. “The people of Haiti are not. I hope our attention can turn to them and how we can help restore peace and safety to a beautiful country and its people, including our kids, who deserve so much better.”
The U.S. Southern Command said Wednesday that a fleet-anti-terrorism security team, known as FAST, had been deployed to the embassy in Port-au-Prince. The team of Marines were sent there to help “maintain strong security capabilities at the U.S. Embassy” and “conduct relief in place for our current Marines, a common and routine practice worldwide,” U.S. Southern Command said.
The move came one day after Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced his resignation.
By MINYVONNE BURKE/NBC News