What was meant to be a simple week-long trip with best friends Jameka Ivy and Queen turned into an unimaginable ordeal when a Black woman was kidnapped and escaped her abductor in Tunisia. The aftermath of her story has caused social media to react and has attracted millions of views.
Last month, best friends Jameka and Queen traveled to Tunisia, a North African nation, staying at the Penthouse Suites Hotel in Tunis. After exploring the club scene on Saturday night at AÏNA nightclub, Ivy decided to return to the resort early by herself and take a taxi back. When she arrived at the hotel, she realized she needed to pick up a key to her room from the front desk. Shortly after entering her room, she noticed there was no tissue in the suite. She quickly went to the lobby to request some, and that’s when things took a turn for the worse. Her last memory before realizing she was abducted was reentering the lobby.
As she regained consciousness, Ivy realized she was in the back of a vehicle. This was a clear sign she had been drugged and kidnapped. She managed to get out of the car but was confronted by her abductor and had to fight for her life. “It had to be angels or something with me, it’s a grown man,” she said. Thoughts of her children drove her determination. “All I kept thinking about was my kids and I got to get back home to my kids. I’m really fighting for my life. He’s punching me and covering my mouth, telling me to shut up. Giving up wasn’t an option, but I managed to get away by the grace of God,” she stated in her video. After escaping, she ran through a wooded area toward cars and lights.
Jameka was able to get assistance and take a taxi back to the hotel, but her best friend Queen faced another troubling situation. As she searched the hotel asking staff about Jameka’s whereabouts, she was told she had left with a “friend,” which seemed unlikely since she didn’t know anyone locally and faced a language barrier. When Queen persisted, staff became less helpful and ignored her questions. She documented questionable behavior in a TikTok video, including fake police officers and other unknown people posing as doctors.
The best friends eventually reunited at the hotel and began to piece everything together. Jameka explained that the hotel staff resisted showing footage of her movements the night of the abduction and did not call the police. They only showed footage of her returning early Sunday morning. The hotel even claimed she never arrived back during her night out at the club and insisted she had been taken from the club instead.
This raises many questions. How did they know she was at the club? How did her belongings, including her phone and purse, arrive in her room before she was abducted? In footage of her return, she had no phone, purse, or shoes. When police arrived, it was not to address the abduction but because the hotel accused Queen of being disruptive. Realizing the police were unaware of the incident, Jameka called the U.S. Embassy, which sent officials to investigate.
Jameka survived and returned to her children and loved ones in Maryland, but she sustained visible injuries. She has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees and mental health support and is pursuing legal action against The Penthouse Suites Hotel while seeking a transparent investigation from Tunisian and U.S. authorities. The hotel continues to refuse to show footage of the night she was kidnapped.
Let us be our sister’s keeper. If Jameka were not a Black woman, this story would be making international headlines. Now is the time to stand up for her and demand justice. The lack of widespread coverage highlights a troubling societal pattern of dismissing assaults on Black women. By sharing her story, Jameka raises awareness and advocates for other potential victims of kidnapping.
Given human trafficking was identified as a concern in 2024, with Tunisia reporting 524 victims, many past and future victims remain unheard. It is crucial to amplify these stories to prevent others from enduring similar trauma. We must continue to demand justice for Jameka and ensure her story is not overlooked.