The Hungry Syrian Wanderer
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Basel Manadil (Arabic: باسل مناديل), also known as The Hungry Syrian Wanderer, is a Syrian vlogger and entrepreneur best known for his videos chronicling his life in the Philippines as well as his charity work towards the less fortunate and disaster victims.
Manadil was born to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother in Homs, but was forced to evacuate in early 2013 when the Syrian Civil War broke out–his parents and sister moved to Lebanon (and later to Saudi Arabia) while Basel moved on his own to the Philippines where he studied and graduated with a degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Perpetual Help. He was however unable to land a job in the country, and as such he decided to start a blog where he goes around the Philippines chronicling his experiences in various landmarks and tourist attractions, singing praises about how he fell in love with his adopted country as well as its people and culture.
He also currently owns a 50s-style diner named the "YOLO Retro Diner", as well as a Korean-style convenience store named "Yeoboseyo Korean Mart" (whom he originally meant for a Korean former friend of his prior to falling out with him over an alleged betrayal on part of the Korean).
- Benevolent Boss: To his employees at Yolo and Yeoboseyo. In fact, most if not all of his employees were picked by Basel from indigent backgrounds.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Basel and his family were refugees from the Syrian Civil War, the ruins of his childhood home being shown in a video chronicling his origins.
- The Faceless: Basel's wife, who chose not to show her face around mostly out of privacy concerns.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Owns three rescue cats whom he named Maui Boy, Maki Boy and Milky Boy. Basel even made a dedicated vlog channel for his pets.
- The Pollyanna: Considering his above-mentioned past and all, and yet he still maintains a wide-eyed sense of idealism and optimism towards his surroundings.
- Travelogue Show: Especially in his earlier vlogs.
- We Help the Helpless: Basel earned praise from Filipinos for his charitable work, especially when his videos showing indigent and destitute people being aided went viral. Also of note was that a number of his employees also came from similar backgrounds, of whom he hired to help them get back on their feet.