The Conversation (0)
American woman in Pakistan finally returning home after her planned marriage to …
Charleston County Sheriff's Office, TikTok, Lumen5
An American woman who travelled to Pakistan and was jilted by a teenager she met online became an unexpected TikTok sensation after videos of her refusing to leave the country and demanding thousands of dollars went viral.
Onijah Andrew Robinson, a 33-year-old from New York is now reported to be travelling back home to the US after flying over to Karachi in October last year to marry 19-year-old Pakistani man Nidal Ahmed Memon.
Things didn't go according to plan, though. When Robinson arrived, she was rejected by Memon, who claimed his family were against the marriage. There have also been reports that Robinson "catfished" the young man. According to Robinson, she was then left "stranded" in Karachi for several days, and her tourist visa expired.
Initially, she stayed around Memon's home but discovered the family had left and locked up the house, and she then wandered the streets of Karachi.
@murtazaviews American citizen Onijah, who is in Pakistan’s Karachi for her lover, has demanded $20,000 – out of the $100,000 – by this week from the government while addressing a press conference alongside charity organisation head Ramzan Chhipa. “My plan is to reconstruct this whole country. I am asking for $100K or more. I need $20K by this week. OK in my pocket and cash OK that’s a demand to the government. The government is going to fix up these buildings, fix up the streets and clean up these streets. It’s ridiculous out here. I do not like it,” Onijah Andrew Robinson said at a press conference alongside charity organisation head Ramzan Chhipa in Karachi. Chhipa described the woman as his “American sister.” But the lady interrupted and claimed that she was from Pakistan. She urged the people to respect the law and God. “I am married to Nidal Ahmed Memon. I am Onijah Ahmed, we are going to move to Dubai very soon,” she said and demanded that Karachi be re-constructed.
Clips of Robinson's extraordinary and chaotic story soon started making the rounds on TikTok, with everyone talking about "the American woman in Pakistan" who seemingly organised her own press conferences where she requested big sums of money from the Pakistani government.
“I’m asking for 100K or more. I need 20K by this week, in my pockets, in cash," she said. “That’s a demand to the government. Pakistan needs new buses, taxis, and cars," and at one point shared her goal to "rebuild" Pakistan.
"My plan is to rebuild this entire country. I'm asking for $100k, and I need $20k in cash by the end of this week," she asked.
To begin with, she stated that the money request was so she could begin a new life in Pakistan, but as the pleas kept changing on a daily basis (everything from $100,000 to land, $5,000, and $2,000 "every week") which made it more difficult to pin down her exact motivations.
@kaydx3 #americanwomaninpakistan #pakistan #fyp
A reporter did ask about her plans, to which she fired back "It’s none of your business," citing it was against her religion.
She also claimed to have already married Memon, as in a press conference she said: "Make sure you get this on your camera: I’m married to Nidal Ahmed Memon. We’re moving to Dubai soon and having our baby there".
At the press conference, Robinson was referred to as an American which she denied, and claimed she was from Pakistan.
During her time in Pakistan, Robinson received help from a non-governmental organisation (NGO) while in Pakistan - the particular organisation has not been named - and even offered to pay for her plane ticket back to the US, which Robinson rejected, News18 reported.
@mystapaki American Lady in Pakistan #americanlady #americanladyinpakistan #onijah
People online have been enthralled by Robinson and praised how patient Pakistanis have been with her.
One person wrote: "I need a documentary on this lady immediately".
"Pakistanis are nice people b/c they are being very patient with her," another person said.
Someone else added: "'Mind ya business' she so New York".
"Pakistan is showing its hospitality culture," a fourth person commented.
Since Robinson has gained worldwide attention, a man claiming to be her son Jeremiah Robinson spoke about his mother on Pakistani TV, claiming that she has “mental bipolar disorder" and that she is not married to Memon.
“I’m trying to help her as her son to come back to the U.S. She was only supposed to go to Pakistan to meet him and his family," he said.
It has also been reported that Robinson has previous with trespassing. In 2021, Robinson was arrested and faced charges for entering a premises post warning in an unrelated incident, as per Charleston County, South Carolina, court records.
Elsewhere, Anna Paul breaks silence after Mikaela Testa's allegations, and what is the Gen-Z shake? A new 'millennial pause' has been uncovered
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.