American woman in Pakistan baffles internet as she refuses to leave after planned marriage to teenager fell apart
A New York woman has become an unlikely viral hit after her trip to Pakistan to marry a teenager she met online turned into a series of bizarre exploits as she refused to leave the country, demanded thousands of dollars and claimed she wanted to 'rebuild' the nation.
Onijah Andrew Robinson, 32, traveled to Karachi in October 2024 to meet and marry Nidal Ahmed Memon – a 19-year-old Pakistani man.
But upon arrival, Memon rejected her and said his family was opposed to the marriage – leaving her 'stranded' for several days in Karachi as her tourist visa expired, she claims. It was reported that money was raised for her to return home but she refused.
Now, she has taken social media by storm with her wild tale, becoming a sensation on TikTok.
After facing the rejection from her alleged lover, Robinson had nowhere to go, so began wandering around Karachi. She lingered around Mamon's home for a while but found that the entire family had vacated and locked up the house.
Meanwhile, a man claiming to be her son and giving his name as Jeremiah Robinson, gave an interview to Pakistani TV where he said his mother suffers from a 'mental bipolar disorder,' and said the marriage to Memon never occurred.
'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 states in the clip. It was not clear that he was her son or how old he is.
Robinson spoke at a press conference in Pakistan, where she said: 'I'm asking for 100K or more. I need 20K by this week, in my pockets, in cash. That's a demand to the government.'
At first, it appeared she was asking for the money so that she could stay and start a life in Pakistan. But amid the flurry of thousands of videos, it was unclear as to who she was demanding the money from, and for what purpose. In several clips, she is heardexpressing her desire to improve vital services in Pakistan such as infrastructure and local bus services.
In another, she is captured asking for 'two thousand or more every week', 'more than five thousand dollars in USD', 'I want 20K up front, 5K-10K to stay here every week, and I want those demands from the government right away', according to the spate of videos in circulation on TikTok.
At one stage, she announced she had plans to travel with Memon to Dubai and was planning on starting a family – despite being rejected – stating: 'Make sure you get this on your camera, I'm married to Nidal Ahmed Memon, we are moving to Dubai very soon. We're going to have our baby in Dubai.'
When probed further on her declaration, she refused to explain any further, stating it was against her religion to 'tell you my business'.
According to News18, she received an offer of help from a non-governmental organization in Pakistan – though it was not immediately clear who – which offered to pay for her return ticket to the U.S., an offer she is said to have turned down.
Robinson had a brush with the law in 2021, when she was arrested and faced charges for entering a premises post warning, according to Charleston County, South Carolina, court records.
The Independent has contacted Robinson and the U.S. Consulate General in Karachi for comment.
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